Overtake the Past
by Tramontana Keeper
Summary: Ryou discovers the truth about himself and his yami when the Lost Shards become active once again, heralding the awakening of youkai all over the world. Meanwhile, the Yugi gang will realize the truth behind what happened 3000 years ago... -on hold-
1. Trees

Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh or Inuyasha, no da!

**Trees?**

The first real signs of change came that day at the arcade, though when they thought back they noticed that the symptoms had shown up long before. When Ryou Bakura started getting jumpy, reacting to the tiniest little sounds and seeing farther than was normal, people put it down to stress or some other quirk. And the fact that Yami Bakura might attack someone who surprised him was not really new. But that day at the arcade showed that a definite change had come over him. 

It was a beautiful day, and summer was just starting to creep into the air. Yugi and the gang had decided to meet at the arcade in the afternoon, and now they were surveying the games wondering what to do first.

"Ha, meet Joey, the king of the arcade! Now, whom shall I show my superiority over first…" Joey said, looking around expectantly. Tristan laughed. 

"King of the arcade? You couldn't beat a paper bag at an arcade game! Yugi trounced you last time!"

"Grrr…." Joey glared at Tristan, and then dragged him over to a fighting game to fight it out. Ryou was standing quietly on the side. He wasn't really good at arcade games; he just came to hang out with his friends. 

"Come on, Ryou," Yugi said cheerfully, "let's go play something!"

"Fine," Ryou trailed after him, letting Yugi choose a racing game. They both sat down, and soon they were racing away.

Ryou was concentrating on the game, pretty much to the exclusion of everything else, but he did notice that it seemed rather easier than usual. He reached the end, and only then saw Yugi staring at him.

"Wow, Ryou, you've gotten really good! You beat me by a lot!"

"Wh-? I-" he didn't know what to say; he had never won an arcade game before, at least not on his own. His Yami was better than he was at the games, and would play occasionally. 

"Oh my gosh, look guys, Ryou beat Yugi!" Tea exclaimed, drawing Tristan and Joey over. Ryou shrugged uneasily, uncomfortable with all the attention.

"Wow, you mean Ryou actually beat Yugi, the King of Games? That's weird…." Joey scratched his head.

"Hey Ryou, let's do the Mortal Kombat one!" Tristan challenged.

"Sure…" 

For the rest of the afternoon Ryou played arcade games against everybody, and won almost all of them. Everybody was bemused, and Joey was shaking his head.

"Man, I never thought I'd see that. Ryou, becoming that good! C'mon, tell me, how did you do it?"

"I-I don't know, it just seemed rather easy all of a sudden."

On the way home, Ryou saw a familiar figure lounging around on one of the streets. "Hey, Malik!" he called, waving. Malik turned around.

"Oh, hi Ryou. What're you doing here?"

"I'm on the way back from the arcade," he said.

"Have fun?" Malik asked, almost wistfully.

"Yeah, but it was weird. I won almost all the games."

That made Malik take notice. "Wow, you won? What brought about the sudden change?"

Ryou scuffed his shoe in the dust, and stared at the floor for a minute, then looked back at Malik. "I really don't know how it happened. It felt like my reflexes suddenly got so much better, but that can't really be, can it?"

Malik contemplated the sunset. "Who knows? Weirder things have happened, this isn't the most normal place in the world, in case you hadn't noticed. See you around." Malik gave him a wave and strolled off, leaving Ryou to walk home alone.

Ryou went inside his dark house, and got ready to make himself dinner. His Yami had been strangely silent all day, so he sent an inquiring thought at him.

~What?~ came the irritable reply.

~I was just checking, you've been awfully quiet all day,~ he answered, while heating up water.

~Is that a crime? Or is it now my job to provide you with constant amusement?~

~No, I was just making sure you were okay.~

~You always complain about me saying things, and then when I don't you complain also. Obnoxious hikari!~

Ryou sighed. His yami was not exactly the easiest person to live with. At least he wasn't trying actively to steal the Millenium Puzzle again.

After dinner Ryou showered and got into bed, and decided to ask his yami if he knew anything about the strange reflexes he had noticed at the arcade.

~Yami?~

~What now? Need me to sing a lullaby?~ Yami Bakura said sarcastically.

~No, I wanted to ask you about something.~

~You won't leave me alone and pretend you asked?~

~No. Today at the arcade, I won all the games. It was as if my reflexes suddenly got a boost. I've never been able to do that before.~

~Really?~ Suddenly, his yami was interested. ~It's about time I started rubbing off on you. I used to have the best reflexes in Egypt. That's why I was such a great tomb robber.~

~I never knew that. I've also been feeling weird lately. I think I can see better than I ever could, and I can hear better too-~

~So? You're actually taking notice of the world around you. Congratulations.~

~But it's not just that! You've also been jumpy; it's not normal to be able to hear someone tiptoeing so loudly. Or a window being opened three blocks away….~

~I used to have almost inhuman abilities at times. I guess it really is rubbing off on you. Maybe now I can go stealing again, now that I've got my old abilities back…!~

Oh, man, this wasn't a good idea at all. ~No, don't! I want to understand what's happening! Why could you do those things?~

~I've been like that ever since I could remember, except when I woke up and took over your pathetic body. Go away, I want to think.~

Ryou knew he wouldn't get anything else out of his yami that night. Maybe drawing his attention to this hadn't been the best of ideas, but he really didn't know what was going on. He turned out the light and went to sleep. 

*^*^*

He was running through a forest, faster than he had ever known it was possible to run. He knew he had to get away from the things that were chasing him. They were after something he had, something he knew he must never give them, something he must protect with his life. The howls were drawing closer now, and he could finally glimpse some of his pursuers. They had huge claws and sharp teeth, glaring red eyes, and looked like creatures out of some horrible nightmare. The only way he could get them to leave him was to fight them head on. Breathing hard, hurting all over, he stopped momentarily for breath, his heart pounding savagely inside him. Looking up, he saw a clearing up ahead, and decided to make his stand there. With an extra burst of speed, he was there. He stopped and turned around, ready to face them. 

The first one came from the side, where he wasn't expecting it, and clawed him in the side. There was a swift, sharp pain and a splash of blood, but he couldn't stop, the creature was coming back-

Ryou woke up with a start, panting. A phantom pain still stabbed at his side. He checked the clock, and saw it was 2:30 am. Ryou got up shakily and went to wash his face from the sweat. His pajamas were whole, and there was no wound. It was just a dream, but it had seemed awfully real. 

~Yami, do you know what that was?~

~You dreamt that too?~

~Did I pick it up from you, or did you pick it up from me?~

~I don't know-~ there was no hint of the usual annoyance or sarcasm in his yami's voice ~It seemed a little familiar, for some reason-~

~Maybe it was some memory from ancient Egypt?~

~How stupid are you? There aren't any forests like that in Egypt, and there never were-~

~Oh, right. I guess I'll go back to sleep, I do have school tomorrow. Good night.~

~….~

Ryou tossed and turned for quite a while before his eyes finally closed and his breathing evened out. He slipped into a fitful, and uneventful, sleep.

The next day was just as nice as before, but Ryou's yami being in a bad mood rather ruined it. He kept on taking over and looking around, then going back into his soul room, until Ryou was getting annoyed.

"Hey Ryou!" Tea called out from the other side of the street. He turned and went over to where Tea and Yugi were waiting. 

"Hi," he said rather sullenly.

"Ryou, what's wrong? Why are you so uptight this morning?"

"It's nothing." 

They walked on in silence for a minute, and Yugi and Tea exchanged a glance. Ryou had been known to be a little moody in the past few weeks, and they were careful not to annoy him.

Ryou walked a little ahead of them, then suddenly slowed down and started looking around, as if he was searching for something that wasn't there. Then he sort of shook himself, and clenched his fists.

"STOP DOING THAT ALREADY!"

Yugi and Tea jumped. "Ryou, what happened?" "Doing what?"

"No, it's not you, my yami keeps on coming out and looking for something, it's driving me crazy!" ~What are you looking for?!~

~There aren't enough trees around here. They should plant more trees, big ones~

Ryou shook his head in disbelief, and then gave a shaky laugh. "Sorry about that, guys."

"It's ok," Yugi said. "What did your yami want?" he asked, slightly wary.

"He was looking for trees, he said there weren't enough around here."

"Trees?" Tea asked, amused. "That's really weird."

"Tell me about it."

"Take him to the park later on," Yugi suggested, "there are lots of trees there."

"Yeah, maybe." 

During class that day, Ryou was distracted. He kept hearing all sorts of mental 'noise', which he assumed was from his yami. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what his yami was doing in his soul room, but whatever it was it was driving him to distraction.

"Ryou?"

Ryou stared out the window, chewing on his sandwich, trying to block out his yami's noise.

"Ryou?"

Somebody was shaking him. 

"Ryou!"

"What!" 

"Sorry man, but you weren't answering!" Joey said, rising his hands defensively.

"Sorry." 

"Is it just me or is Ryou really out of it lately?" Joey commented quietly to Yugi.

Yugi stared at Ryou for a second, then nodded.

~Yugi?~

~Yes, Yami?~

~Please be careful. I don't know what is happening to your friend, but remember that his yami's activities generally mean no good.~

~I don't know, it just seems weird. Why is Yami Bakura suddenly interested in trees, of all things? It just doesn't fit-~

~I don't understand it either. Just be careful~

Ryou went to the library for the rest of recess, hoping that the quiet there would offset the noise in his head a little. He tried asking his yami what he was doing, but again he got no answer. He didn't want to go in and see, if anybody came by they'd think something was wrong with him.

"Ryou?"

He turned to see who it was this time, and saw Malik was sitting at the table near him, reading a book. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I could ask you the same question."

"I came to get some peace and quiet. My yami has been making a racket in my head all morning."

"Is it helping?" Malik smirked evilly.

"Not really. Why are you here?"

"I'm reading, isn't that obvious?"

"But why don't you hang out with the gang or anything?"

"I dunno, I have stuff to do." He said, avoiding Ryou's eyes.

"Come on, I'm sure they'd be happy if you came along sometime."

Malik looked away. "They don't trust me, and I don't blame them. I'm fine." He got up and walked away.

He really needs some friends, Ryou thought. They don't know him at all. 

~Yami?~

~…What?~

~Finally! What have you been doing there all morning?~

~Redecorating my soul room~

~Rede…give me a break! You've been planning something, haven't you?~

~Actually, I haven't. Not that I need to explain myself to you, mind you-~

Ryou twitched a bit as his yami took over.

~Hey!~

~Don't believe me~ his yami smirked, ~go see for yourself~ Yami Bakura left the library and went toward Ryou's classroom.

By the end of the day his friends noticed that Ryou was much calmer than he had been all morning, and was back to his usual sweet, easygoing self.

"Didja ever figure out what was bothering you this morning?" Tristan asked him.

"Yeah," Ryou said, "you won't believe it. My yami was redecorating his soul room. He filled it with trees."

"He sure has a tree fixation recently, doesn't he," Tea commented. 

That night Ryou had another dream. He was quite young, and standing in the middle of a beautiful field, and he was playing a game with someone he couldn't quite see. He heard a voice calling him and the one who was playing with him, and he knew that the person calling him was his mother. The one he couldn't really see grinned competitively at him.

"C'mon, Ryu. I'll race you home!"


	2. Black

Disclaimer: nothing's changed.

Black 

Yugi was walking home from Joey's house where they had met to study for a test together, and decided to take a shortcut through the park. He wasn't worried about being attacked, he knew his yami would deal with it.

~There really is something nice about walking here at night~ he told his yami ~everything is so quiet, and you don't usually see many people here at this hour, it's like really being in a forest~

~We never had forests in Egypt. All these trees make me kind of nervous~

Yugi smiled, and looked up at the treetops.

~Yugi, what's that white thing?~

Yugi looked, and saw that there was indeed something white up high in one of the taller trees. 

~I have no idea~

He walked closer, and saw that there was more…it looked rather like a person was sitting there…wait…

~That's Ryou!~

"Hey, Ryou!" he called out.

~What could he be doing in a tree at this hour?~

~I don't know, it looks like he's sleeping~

~This bothers me. Too many strange things are happening with him~

"Ryou, wake up!"

Ryou stirred, then looked around. "Yugi? What are- Good Heavens! What am I doing here?!"

"That's what I wanted to ask you. How did you get there?"

"I don't know, the last thing I remember was getting ready for bed. How am I supposed to get down?"

"Couldn't you climb?"

"Ahhh!" Ryou hugged the tree tightly "I suppose this is a bad time to mention this, but I'm scared of heights!" Ryou suddenly calmed down and huffed, and Yugi knew his yami had taken over.

"I still can't get down, and I'm not afraid of heights like my silly hikari is. The branches are too far apart, and I'm too high up to reach any of them. The only way down is jumping, and I am NOT trying that."

In the end they had to call the Fire Department to get him down, since no one else had a ladder tall enough to reach. The men kept shaking their heads in wonder, not understanding how he had managed to get up there in the first place.

Ryou took another shower, not wanting to get into bed all dirty. Then he decided to have a talk with his yami. 

~Yami?~

~What?~

~What were we doing in that tree?~

~I don't know. Now go bug someone else~

~I have another question. Why did you fill my soul room with trees also?~

~Because you should have trees too. Go to sleep already!~

Ryou rolled over, and tried to go back to sleep. A few minutes later-

~Yami?~

~WHAT?~

~Was your name Ryu?~

~…I think so~

~But Ryu is a Japanese name, I thought you were Egyptian~

~I don't know, ok? Now if you don't leave me alone I am really going to hurt you!~

He was in a forest again. It was the middle of the day, and everything was quiet. He was waiting for something. There was a rustle in the trees, and a gang of people ran out. They were dressed in old Japanese clothes, and were carrying swords and spears, and some were carrying sacks. He smirked, then stepped forward. They stared at him, and yelled some things at him, though he didn't catch what they said. Then he attacked. They were all dead within minutes, and he smirked and went to pick up the bags they had dropped. There was more rustling, more people were coming, but they weren't his enemies this time. 

Ryou woke up that morning disturbed by the dream. The vividness of it was startling, and he couldn't stop seeing those people be torn to bits, their blood splattering the leaves-

He shook his head sharply, he didn't need to dwell on those images.

~Don't let it disturb you so much, they deserved it for stealing that food~

~How do you know that's what they were?~

~I…I think I remember something like that happening to me once, a long, long time ago~

His yami trailed off into silence. Ryou looked at the clock. It was still very early, only 6:00 am, and he didn't need to be at school until 8:00 so he went to read until it was time. After a while he looked at the clock again, and noticed that it seemed a little blurry. Normally he could see the clock clearly from where he was sitting, despite the fact that it was through a hallway and on the other side of the house. He rubbed his eyes and looked at it again, but there was no improvement. 

As he got ready for school he started feeling as if his head was stuffed with cotton. He couldn't hear or smell well, but his nose wasn't stuffed. 

When he went to take his temperature, his yami finally paid attention to him.

~What's wrong with you now?~

~I don't feel too good, but I don't have a temperature. Do you think I should stay home from school?~

~Ha, you know I think you should stay home from school every day and spend your time plotting to take over the world or doing what I tell you, but you never listen~

~Oh, right~ He giggled sheepishly. That was definitely not something his yami would give him constructive advice on.

As he walked out the door, it seemed to him that his reflection in the hall mirror had lighter eyes than it usually did, but he chalked it up to his tiredness, blurry eyesight, or both.

When Yugi and Tea met Ryou, they both noticed something was different about him.

"Ryou, did you get a haircut or something? I know something is different about you today," Tea said.

"No, I really haven't done anything different."

"Weird," Yugi commented, "I would have sworn you had changed something…"

As they walked into class after meeting up with Joey, he stared for a minute after Ryou. "Is it just me or did that guy always have purple eyes?"

"Purple?" Yugi watched Ryou sit down. Something was definitely up with the white-haired bearer of the Millennium Ring.

During the 12:00 lunch break, while they were eating, Yugi got a good look at Ryou's eyes.

"Ryou, have your eyes always been purple?"

Ryou stared at him. "What?"

"Your eyes, they're a light purple. Have they always been that way?" By now the whole gang was listening curiously.

"No, they're not supposed to be purple!" Ryou got up in a panic, and ran towards the bathroom. He entered the bathroom, which was deserted, thankfully, and went to look at his reflection. His friends had been telling the truth-his eyes were a pretty lavender color, instead of the normal chocolate brown.

~What's happening to me?~ he almost shouted in his head, but didn't get an answer. Ryou turned away from the mirror and went to use the bathroom, and decided that maybe purple eyes was something he could live with, even though he didn't know why. He turned to leave so he wouldn't be late for class, and caught a glimpse of himself again. 

Ryou gasped. His hair was no longer a pearly white. It had turned jet-black, and was fluffier and less spiky than normal. Ryou stared at his reflection, then brought a lock of hair up to his eyes to make sure the mirror was reflecting him. His hair was still black. 

He sat down on the cold tiles, and wondered what to do. There was no way he could go back to class looking like this. He had sat and wondered what to do for about fifteen minutes when he heard footsteps approaching. Panicked, he ran and blocked the door to prevent whoever it was from seeing him.

The person shoved the door, then harder as he encountered resistance.

"You can't come in," Ryou called out, "go to a different bathroom."

"Ryou?" Malik's voice came from the other side of the door "what the hell are you doing in there? The teacher was worried, she just sent Yugi to find you."

Oh man, this was bad. 

Yugi's voice joined in.

"Malik? Why are you standing there?"

"I found Ryou, he's in here, but he won't let me in."

"Ryou? Are you okay in there?" Yugi's concerned voice came to him through the door.

"I'm fine. Go away."

Malik and Yugi exchanged a glance. That comment was extremely un-Ryou-like.

"Ryou, we're coming in!" Yugi and Malik started putting their collective weight against the door, and Ryou couldn't hold on for long. The door flew open, and the two boys entered.

"Ryou?" their eyes fell on Ryou's black haired form.

Malik crossed his arms. "Ok, who are you and what have you done with Ryou?"

"I actually am Ryou," he said, nervously.

Malik gave him a skeptical glance, then started walking around him. "Hmmm." He walked the other way. "Hmmm." Ryou sweatdropped.

"Well, you do look rather like him, but there's something wrong. Your hair is black."

"YOU DON'T SAY!!!"

"Really, Ryou, did you dye it or something? Black doesn't look too bad on you, but white looks better."

"I know!!!"

"Sheesh, calm down, I'm only trying to help!"

Yugi sweatdropped.

"I don't know what happened, my hair just suddenly turned black about fifteen minutes ago."

"But what should we tell the teacher? Isn't missing class because of black hair a little weird?"

"I can't walk into class like this! What'll everyone think?"

"Say it's temporary dye," Malik suggested, while propelling the reluctant Ryou from the bathroom.

"Nobody is going to buy that," he protested, trying to resist.

"Does it really matter?" asked Yugi "there's no school rule that you can't dye your hair black if you want to. So just don't explain. And you don't want to miss the next class, the material's going to be on the test."

Ryou had finally agreed to go, when his yami took over and pulled away from the two other boys, glaring at them for manhandling him like that.

Yugi looked at Yami Bakura warily, while Malik just crossed his arms.

Yami Bakura looked at them, then got an introspective look on his face. "You don't have to worry, this change is only temporary…I'm…I think something like this used to happen to me back in ancient Egypt, but…" and he vanished as unexpectedly as he had appeared.

"Ok, that was weird," Yugi said. 

Ryou came back to himself looking confused. "I really have no idea what that was about" he said apologetically.

"Never mind about that," Yugi said "let's just get back to class before the teacher starts wondering what happened to us too."

Yugi walked into the classroom first. "Yes teacher, we found him." He sat down quickly before she could ask him to elaborate. Malik didn't even attempt an explanation; he just walked in and sat down, grinning like a Cheshire cat the whole time. Then Ryou walked in. "Sorry, teacher."

The class stared in shock. The teacher's train of thought jumped several tracks away from the material she was teaching.

"Ryou, wh- how- would you care to explain…that?" she finally finished, pointing at his hair.

"Um, would you mind very much if I didn't explain it? I'm not completely sure I understand the situation very well, myself."

The teacher stared for a moment, then turned back to the board. With any other student she might have pressed for details, but Ryou was always so good that she decided to let him get away with a little weirdness. The history lesson continued. The teacher was talking about Middle-East history, and was explaining that the Muslims and Jews followed a lunar calendar. This struck a chord in Yami Bakura.

Lately he had been feeling very strange, like he had no control over his life. The strange dreams started to undermine everything he had known about himself, so consequently he was rather out of sorts at the world in general. Now the mention of a lunar calendar awoke another memory, though this time it was a familiar one of Ancient Egypt. 

~Hey, Hikari, about your hair-~

Ryou nearly fell out of his seat in shock. His yami, actually starting a civil conversation with him that didn't start with 'go do ______'?

~Stop that and listen to me! I remember something about this…~

The next recess everybody flocked around Ryou, asking questions and pulling at his now raven colored locks. Several highly annoying conversations regarding his new look started up all over the classroom, mostly by girls, and mostly along the lines of-

"Did you see Ryou?"

"I can't believe he dyed his hair!"

"But he said it would be back to normal later on."

"I like him better with white hair."

"I dunno, the black is kind of cool too…"

You get the point.

Ryou got sick of this very fast, and finally sneaked out of the classroom to get some peace, only to be accosted by Tea, Joey, Tristan, and Yugi.

"Well Ryou, 'fess up. What did you do to your hair?" Joey said.

"Did you really dye it?" Tea added.

"I'll tell you, let's just go somewhere quiet," Ryou said, having given up on keeping it a secret.

They all went outside, with Malik trailing along after them, and stood under a tree, looking at Ryou expectantly.

"I talked to my yami, he says he remembers something like that happening back in Ancient Egypt. Remember what the teacher was saying about the lunar calendar? Well, he says that every month at this time, during the first quarter of the lunar month, his hair would turn black and he would lose a lot of his reflexes and strength. That's why he would never go out stealing at the time; he didn't want anyone to know about it. It's supposed to last only for today, by tomorrow everything should return to normal."

Varying looks of surprise and thoughtfulness crossed everybody's features. Tristan spoke up first, asking the obvious question.

"Why?"

Ryou didn't answer for a minute, he looked around as if contemplating something, then looked back at them. "Yami says that he doesn't know, but that it's been happening to him ever since he can remember. The only thing he does remember is someone telling him never to tell anyone when that happens, that it was the greatest weakness of people like them."

The unanswered question hung in the air, unvoiced. People like them? Like what?


	3. Variables

**Disclaimer: **I'm going to stop with this. If I suddenly get rights to either Inuyasha or Yugioh, I'll tell you. Until then just assume I don't.

**Author's Note:** I want to thank all my reviewers, it really makes me happy that you like my story. Thanks to: AnimeVampGurl, Lyn/Lin, Smiley-chan, Kyoko-san, yami angel, Steeple333, damsel, Mai-chan, and Katriel!

**Warnings:** I think I'll have to up the rating, it gets more violent later on, this _is_ a crossover with Inuyasha after all. It also might take me a bit longer to update on the next chapter, I do have school. 

**Variables**

Kagome stood in the morning mist, her mind roiling with an extremely important question. What to do?

They had finally defeated Naraku and put the Shikon no Tama back together, and it had definitely been hard. Sango and Inuyasha had nearly gotten killed, but they had persevered with Miroku's help, and later Kouga's, Kagura's and even Sesshoumaru's. Now the Shikon no Tama was back in its place on the necklace around her neck, but she didn't know what to do with it. Kagome walked back towards the village, deciding to ask Sango her opinion. 

Despite the early hour, the village was teeming with life as everyone celebrated Naraku's defeat, took care of the wounded and rebuilt the village. The villagers parted respectfully when she passed, and Kagome felt slightly less uncomfortable by their near-worship, now that she truly was a full-fledged Miko in her own right. She came up to the hut where Sango was being treated, and walked in to find Sango sitting on a blanket, several bandages on her legs and torso, and looking rather annoyed with the world.

"Sango, how are you feeling?"

The black haired youkai exterminator looked up at her wryly. "Oh, you know me. I hate being hurt, I can't DO anything like this."

"You'll be ok," Kagome said to her friend, "sooner than you know, you'll be back on your feet and warding Miroku off again."

Sango blushed. "We- we've decided to get married, now that Miroku's curse is gone, and so is Naraku."

Kagome clapped her hands delightedly. "Sango, that's absolutely wonderful! You two will be really happy together, I just know it."

"After the marriage we decided to go on a trip, to find the Taijiya that are left. We're going to rebuild the village."

"Oh…" the new miko said sadly, "but you'll be so far from here, we won't get to see you that often."

"Don't worry," Sango said, "it's really not all that far. If you have Inuyasha take you, you can make that distance in no time at all."

"Inuyasha…" Kagome suddenly became more serious "I need your advice."

Sango immediately became alert. "On what?"

"On what I'm supposed to do with this," and she held up the Shikon no Tama. Sango looked at it in surprise. "I thought you knew what to do with it?"

Kagome shook her head. "When we started out, I only had to collect all the shards because I broke it, I never really wanted it for myself. But if we leave it the way it is, more youkai will keep coming after it, and there will never be peace."

"I see." Sango had no idea what to tell her. "What about Inuyasha?"

"He always wanted it to become a full youkai, but…"

"Give it to him."

Kagome stared at her in shock. "What? But that would be awful, he would use it to gain power!"

"You're not thinking straight," Sango said, with a serious look on her face, "Inuyasha has changed since the beginning. I think that after all he's gone through, you should trust him to make the right choice."

Kagome looked up in shock, the turned and ran out of the hut, towards the edge of the village. How could she even think that? After all Inuyasha had done for her, she didn't even trust him enough to give him the Shikon no Tama. She wiped away some tears of shame and went to find him. 

After about fifteen minutes of searching, she finally discovered him sitting in a tree near the Bone-Eater's Well.

"Inuyasha."

The hanyou looked down at her from the tree, an unreadable expression on his face. "What?"

"I want to talk to you."

Inuyasha didn't answer, which surprised Kagome.

"What's wrong, Inuyasha?" Why aren't you talking to me?

He turned to look at her, then jumped down from the tree and stood in front of her. Inuyasha reached one clawed hand towards the Shikon no Tama, then stopped and looked at her again. "It's done."

Kagome clenched her fists angrily. "Is that all you can say?"

He gave her another unreadable look. "What else is there to say? It's over. You don't need to come back anymore. We got rid of Naraku, and everything's fine, you can go back you your weird time and stay there. The Taijiya village can take care of the Shikon Jewel."

So that was what had been bothering him! She smiled, and took off the necklace and handed it to Inuyasha. "Here, you wanted it. That's why you came with me in the first place. Use it well." Then she turned and ran off, leaving a bewildered Inuyasha standing and staring at the glowing glass ball.

Kagome went down to the river, nearly in tears. She knew she had done the right thing, but she was still afraid. Inuyasha had two choices; he could turn human, or he could turn full youkai. Trust him, Sango had said. She did, really, but…what if he decided that he wasn't good enough as he was, and that he needed to be more powerful? Without the help, there was no way he would have defeated Naraku, and he might become a full youkai because that was what he felt he needed to do to survive. She hugged her knees, and stared at the water flowing past her, light blue from reflecting the sky. Kagome closed her eyes. The murmur of the water was soothing, and soon she started calming down. Maybe he would become human, as he had promised to Kikyou, and then he could come back to modern Japan with her. 

An indeterminable amount of time later, she heard soft footsteps behind her, and knew it was Inuyasha. Kagome turned to him, waiting to see his black-haired human form, or his insane red-eyed youkai glare. What she saw surprised her- he hadn't changed at all. He was still the same white haired hanyou with the fluffy ears on top of his head. Inuyasha handed the Shikon no Tama back to her with a smile. 

Kagome accepted it with astonishment. "Inuyasha, why? Don't you want to use it?"

"No. I can't become a full youkai, I don't want to risk losing my feelings and becoming a cruel killer, like so many youkai are."

A wild hope rose in Kagome's breast, but his next words crushed it.

"But I can't become human either. I don't think I could live like that, not even for you," he looked away from the sadness in Kagome's eyes. "I've decided to stay here and protect the village. Just because Naraku is gone doesn't mean the danger is gone. I am powerful enough in this form to do that, and I have Tetsusaiga to help me. And Miroku and Sango and Shippou will be here as well. So you keep the Shikon no Tama."

Kagome's eyes filled with tears, and she flung herself at Inuyasha, hugging him hard. "But I don't want to live without you! I'll stay here!"

Inuyasha shook his head. "But you don't belong here, in this time. And you are a human, and I am a hanyou. It would never work between us." Kagome now saw that his eyes held tears as well. "I don't want to live on as you grow old, Kagome. You-you should stay in your time. Maybe I will reincarnate there, and then we can be together."

*********************************************************************

Yugi was getting ready for school, while Yami was watching him worriedly. After several minutes Yami opened his mouth to say something, but Yugi beat him to it.

"I know, you don't like what's going on, and you want me to watch out for the Tomb Robber." 

Yami closed his mouth sheepishly.

"Stop worrying, Yami, I'm sure everything will be ok. He's done nothing bad, there's no reason to be suspicious."

Yami didn't answer for several minutes, then changed the subject- sort of. "I remember that in Ancient Egypt there was a time, at the beginning of the month that he never used to commit any crimes. I guess now we know why."

There wasn't much Yugi could say to that, so they passed the rest of the morning in small talk until Yami went back into his Millennium Item so Yugi could go to school. He met Tea at the corner again, and they walked on until where they usually met Ryou. Usually, that is. 

"He's late," Tea said incredulously.

"That really isn't like him, I hope he's ok," Yugi answered.

About five minutes later a panting Ryou came running up to them. A panting Ryou, whose hair was back to its normal pristine color.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, "You really didn't have to wait for me you know!"

"Oh, it's ok," Tea immediately said, "that's what friends are for. But what happened?"

Ryou rubbed his forehead. "I've been having really weird dreams lately, I had another one last night."

"Really?" Yugi said, "what about?"

"I was in a forested place, similar to the places I've seen in all my other dreams. I was small, about the size of a ten year old, and I was returning from somewhere. Then there was this purple puff of smoke and a guy with brown hair appeared in front of me, who looked about fourteen years old. We started talking, he said something-I don't really remember what- about going to visit somebody else, I think someone I knew. And he asked what I was doing there, and I said I had to-um, I'm not sure actually, I think go fight something, or was it help with something? Never mind, something like that. So he said something like I was young to be doing that, and I said that he was younger when he'd started, and he laughed. Then we both started running somewhere, where I'd been heading to at the beginning, there was a house, a girl came out of it and said hi to me and the other guy, and his name was Sho? Ipo? Something like that…and then I woke up." He noticed Yugi opening his mouth to say something, and quickly went on, "but that's not what surprised me the most. When I woke up, I suddenly noticed that that guy had pointy ears, and he had a big bushy fox tail. Isn't that weird?"

Tea and Yugi both walked in silence for a minute, thinking about it. 

"What did your yami say about it?" Yugi asked.

Ryou gave a sad sort of smile. "He wouldn't really talk about it, but I think it disturbed him. He doesn't know what these dreams are about either, that's why he's been acting so grumpy and out of character lately."

"He hasn't been taking it out on you, has he?" Yugi said seriously. Ryou looked startled at the idea. "No, of course not! I know you don't really get along with him," Yugi rolled his eyes. Not get along was the understatement of the century. "But he really hasn't hurt me at all lately, he wouldn't."

~I suppose Ryou believing in that yami of his isn't a bad thing…~Yami sent to Yugi.

~Yeah~

Their third period that day was history. When the bell rang, the class was surprised when another person walked in with their usual history teacher. 

"Ok class, listen up. This year the school decided to do an experimental course with your grade, instead of the usual history lessons. This is Ms. Matano, an expert on the history of feudal Japan and the old Japanese legends. She will be teaching you during the history classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and you will be learning about the legends of ancient Japan, and also about the verified history from that time." The teacher stepped to the side, and Ms. Matano took the stage. She looked around thirty, and had a sweet face surrounded by brown curly hair that was partially pulled back in a ponytail. She also wore small round glasses. She was wearing a knee-length jeans skirt and a light purple t-shirt.

"We have a very busy schedule ahead of us. We're going to learn about the different beliefs and legends that were told in the era of Feudal Japan up to modern times, and we're also going to go on a trip at the end around sacred and legendary places." Ms. Matano turned to her backpack, and pulled out several magazines.

"As you can see, these are modern magazines, that tell all sorts of supernatural stories. For next class I want all of you to bring an article, we will be looking for similarities between them, and we will start learning the basics of legends."

Until the end of the period, they discussed what they knew about legends, which wasn't much. They mentioned demons, which were an integral part of many legends, and Tea told how she had visited a shrine once with her family. Altogether, people found it an extremely fascinating class. Kaiba even closed his laptop and listened, and Malik didn't make any smart remarks, as he was wont to in many classes. Once in literature after reading a short story the teacher had asked their opinions on it. Malik had raised his and said solemnly that there was a run-on sentence on page sixteen, line seven. Talk about a conversation stopper.

They were walking home at the end of the day, still discussing that day's class.

"Where are we going to find time to get the magazine article? We have so much work, it's like all the teachers are out to get us!" Joey complained.

"Aw, c'mon, we don't have that much work," Yugi said.

"Besides, it looks like Malik found a magazine, see?" Tea said pointing. Malik was standing outside a magazine stand, reading avidly, as the group approached.

"Hey, Malik!" Tea called out. He looked up.

"Oh, it's the Yugi Fan Club. What?"

"Quit calling us that!" Joey bristled. Malik looked at him lazily. "Why?"

"C'mon, don't start fighting," Tristan said, not wanting to start another verbal- and maybe physical- combat session with Malik. "What are you reading?"

"Here," Malik showed them, his earlier animosity disappearing in the face of his object of interest. "It's a magazine from a company called Yougekisha. They've got a ton of stuff, how to get rid of the evil eye, a monster-of-the-week article, things like that."

The gang all looked over his shoulder at the pages he was flipping through.

"What's that?" Yugi pointed at one of the articles he flashed past, called 'The Sealed Away Boy'.

"That?" Malik turned back to the page, "that's the article I'm going to bring. It's about all these people who have written in to tell about this person they see, somewhere up north. They say that they can never find the place again, and that they can't get close because of some strange barrier. The eyewitness accounts aren't all exactly the same, but they all say that they saw a guy pinned to a wall with what seems to be a sword, and there was another sword at his feet."

"Wow, that seems totally unbelievable" Joey said.

"These magazines aren't usually the kind that are widely trusted, you know," Ryou commented.

"Ugh, look at this, they're talking about a monster that eats human souls!" said Tristan.

"Wah, what if it attacks us?" Joey whimpered, latching onto Tristan's arm.

"…It's not real."

Joey immediately stood up. "I knew that." Everyone sweatdropped. 

For a moment there was silence, and it stretched out uncomfortably. Malik folded up the magazine. "I guess I'd better be going, I have some stuff to do. Nice talking to you. Bye, fan club!" he strolled off, and a few minutes later they heard the distinctive growl of a motorcycle engine, that rapidly grew fainter.

"You know, Malik really isn't so bad." Tea commented quietly.

Joey snorted. "When he's not being an arrogant jerk, you mean."

Ryou looked at them. "Are you sure you're not being overly judgmental of him?"

Tristan got annoyed. "What's there to be judgmental about? We're fine, it's him who has the attitude problem."

"Maybe you're just holding his past against him." Ryou walked off in the direction of his house, disturbed. Sometimes he just felt as if he didn't fit in anywhere. He wasn't a true part of the "Yugi Fan Club", as Malik put it, his yami saw to that. In school he was too shy and quiet to make very many friends, though bullies stayed far away from him, again courtesy of a certain tomb robber. Maybe that was why he got along with Malik, who was often alone as well. Ryou entered his empty house, the silence depressing him again. He wondered when his father would get back from his current expedition. 

~You're such a wimp, making a fuss about a stupid house, and about you're stupid so-called friends~

Ryou winced. He wasn't totally alone. He was never totally alone, thought sometimes he might wish he was. 

**************************

He was walking along a path in a mountain, immensely proud of himself for dealing with the problem several villages over. He looked down, hearing something clatter, then turned to look up the mountainside just in time to see a huge boulder tumbling towards him. He jumped, clearing the boulder, but was about to get hit by the next one when someone who looked incredibly familiar shattered it with blades of yellow light. The person landed next to him, and they grinned at each other.

"Dad!"

"Watch it Ryu, these youkai can be rather tricky-" 

The rest of what he said was lost.

Yami Bakura woke up, taking over Ryou's body while the boy slept. Lately he'd been feeling very strange, and that disturbed him. Suddenly, his well-ordered life was coming apart. He had always known where he stood in terms of his goals, his hikari, and the rest of the world (namely as master or potential master), but now all these unknowns were cropping up. Suddenly, he was feeling a strange feeling of sadness, and some regret, as he looked out at the tree in his hikari's back yard, and the stars beyond.

"Dad…?" He clenched his fist, and banged it on the windowsill. "Why don't I know who I am anymore?" 

He turned away from the window, and didn't notice the cracks his fist had made.

****

Any ideas of what's going on yet? I'll be happy to hear them!


	4. Legends

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers! Enjoy.

**Legends**

The class soon found out that Ms. Matano was no pushover, and her subject was not easy. By the Thursday's class, they had a ton of homework and research to do, about which Joey complained non-stop. 

"How are we going to survive this work load? We have a math test soon, and now we have all this homework on the dumb legends. Somebody must hate us."

"Yeah, the teacher" answered Tristan.

"Come on guys, it's really interesting," Tea said enthusiastically. She, for one, was enjoying every moment of the class. 

"I need to bring back a list of the different types of benevolent spirits," Yugi said glumly, looking at the note he had gotten. "I have no idea where I'll find that. What did you guys get?"

"I got the social hierarchy of the feudal era, at least it doesn't include the demons," Joey sighed.

"I need to write the duties of a priestess, or miko," Tea gushed.

"You would," Joey said. The rest of the group didn't share Tea's enthusiasm. 

"Look, there's Ryou, and Malik," Tristan said, shading his eyes to look at the pair who were advancing towards them, deep in discussion.

"Hey," Yugi called out to them. The two changed their course to go meet the others.

"…so anyway," Malik was saying, "I suggest you take your homework seriously and research those demons well, you might get some clues."

"Clues about what?" Joey asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I just had another dream last night. Someone in it mentioned youkai, and I remember that fox-guy I dreamt about a while ago, so I thought these dreams might have something to do with the stuff we're learning in history, and Malik agrees."

"How can that be?" Yugi said seriously, "what connection could there possibly be between you and ancient Japan?"

"Haven't you guys noticed what's been going on around you, Or have your powers of observation vanished along with the rest of your pathetic brains?" Malik snapped, before Ryou could answer, "Obviously, the things Ryou has been talking about are similar to what we've been hearing about youkai."

"But they're just dreams, they don't mean anything! They're probably because of all the stuff about demons that we're learning!" 

"They started way before we even heard about Japanese youkai, it's either precognition or memories, that much detail can't be simply the product of an over stimulated mind!"

"So, according to you, demons actually exist?! How gullible are you, anyway?" Tristan yelled back.

"They're just dumb legends, those things can't be real!" Joey added.

"Idiots, once you claimed mind-control didn't exist either." 

Malik stormed off.

"That stupid, arrogant-" Joey growled.

Tea sighed. "Can't you ever have a conversation with him that doesn't turn into a fight? I mean, I don't like him much either, but you guys are going out of your way to get into fights with him!"

"I'd better be going," Ryou said, "I have to eat lunch and get my homework done, I have some stuff to do this afternoon."

"We're going to the pizza place downtown this evening, want to come?" Yugi invited.

"Sure, I think I'll make it. See you all later!" Ryou ran off.

^*^*^*^

Ryou walked into the brightly lit pizzeria, and looked around for his friends. They had set to meet at seven, but his class had gone on longer than he had thought, so he had come straight to the place without stopping home, and was slightly disheveled. 

"Ryou, over here!" Tea called out, ignoring the looks her shout attracted from the rest of the people there. Ryou smiled and made his way over to the table they were at.

"Hurry up and take some pizza, before Joey eats it all," Yugi said.

"We weren't sure if you were coming," Tristan said around his Coke, "why are you so late?"

Ryou sat down, and took a piece of pizza. "Oh, my kendo class took longer than I thought." Everybody goggled at him.

"When did you start taking kendo?" Tea asked in surprise.

~Heh, it was the most pathetic thing I've ever seen~ 

~Come on, it wasn't that bad~ "Today was my first class."

Yugi looked across the table at him "Why are you suddenly taking kendo classes?"

~It's not like you'll actually learn anything there, it's just a waste of time~

"I'm not really sure, but I thought it would be nice to learn. They say no learning ever goes astray, maybe it'll help me sometime."

~That stuff? It's idiotic! You can't even stab anybody with those bamboo things, they're not proper swords at all. How do you expect to kill anybody with it?~

"What does your yami think of that idea?" Joey wondered.

Ryou laughed. "Actually, he says it's a bloody waste of time, and was disappointed to find that he can't stab anyone with a bamboo sword."

Everyone around the table sweatdropped.

~How do you expect to become anything if you can't use a proper sword?~

~I really am not learning this stuff because I expect to be fighting with it seriously anytime soon!"

~It's an embarrassment to the way of the Samurai, I tell you~

~…Have you been watching Rurouni Kenshin?~

^*^*^*^*^

Unbeknownst to them, someone was watching them. She had sensed the energy around them not too long ago, and was now planning her move. Currently, she was sitting in a café innocently sipping coffee, looking like any other brown-haired brown-eyed woman. Well, maybe prettier. It was impossible, she thought to herself, but it seemed like her suspicions had been correct. There was no mistaking the energy she felt emanating from three of those teenagers. They must have the Lost Shards- there was no other explanation. Every single shard was accounted for, except, of course, the dratted Lost ones that Inuyasha-damn him- had managed to hide somehow during his last fight, five thousand years ago. But if what she had seen was correct, these children had no idea of the power they possessed. She stirred her coffee absently. Those shards must be hers! Getting them would not be so easy, though. While those kids didn't know of the shards, she could sense another power about them, a strong one, which was somehow linked to the shards and the gold items they carried. She could definitely no fight them all head-on, and they always went around protected by a circle of their friends, making it almost impossible to get at them. Well, except one. She smiled, a rather scary smile, promising pain to come. The blonde one was usually alone. And he had such a fascinating history, too, that Malik Ishtar. 

^*^*^*^*^

Ryou tossed in his sleep.

He was standing inside what seemed to be an old dojo, and was holding a sharp sword in his left hand. This dream was much clearer than the others; he could see the oldness of the wood, and the strange structure of the room. From some part of his mind, the puzzling thought rose that people no longer built that way, but he ignored it, concentrating on the task at hand. Another person was standing across from him, and was looking at him in an annoyed fashion. He had incredibly long white hair, strange markings on his face, and a big fluffy thing over one shoulder. He was wearing clothes that looked like something out of a history book, and was carrying a sword.

"I hope _this_ time you are more prepared," he said disapprovingly "the last time your performance was abysmal."

Ryu only tightened his hand about the sword. "Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama."

The one called Sesshoumaru raised his sword, than attacked Ryu. Ryu parried the blow quickly, and feinted to the side, hoping to catch him on the left arm, but Sesshoumaru twisted his sword away and attacked with a flurry of swipes, which Ryu barely managed to block. The fight went on, seemingly forever, until a sharp pain brought Ryu back to reality; he had been nicked, and now had a long scratch along his right arm and partially across his chest. Sesshoumaru frowned, and pressed his attack-

-And Ryou woke up with a start, in his bed. He sat up, panting, and tried to calm down. When his heart rate had finally returned to normal, he lay back down and tried to go back to sleep, but found that to be an impossible task. The dreams had never been as vivid as this one was, and it disturbed him very much. Ryou went to his window, and looked out. His clock said it was 2:35 am, and outside everything was black, and almost completely quiet. He pushed open the glass and leaned out, letting the cool night air on his hot skin. Deciding he needed help, he sent an experimental probe inward. ~Yami?~

Some grumbles, and what sounded like muted cursing answered him. 

~Yami, what do you think of that dream?~

~Go away~

~I won't! This has been going on for ages, and I don't know a thing about it! This is my body and my life too, whether you like it or not!~

~So, grown a backbone, have you, hikari?~ the menace in his voice was unmistakable, and Ryou was chilled. 

~I guess you really are rubbing off on me~ he answered bravely.

His yami laughed, startling Ryou. It was a true laugh, unlike the nasty ones usually heard from him, and sounded rather nice. 

~Well, what did you want to know?~

Ryou decided to take advantage of his yami's unexpected good humor, and got to the point. ~What do you think of these dreams?~

~I think Malik has the right idea. They must be memories or precognition, they aren't ordinary dreams~

~Memories, then,~ Ryou answered ~it looks like feudal Japan. We-you- were speaking Japanese, also. If those really are memories of your past, then…~ he trailed off for a minute, ~Maybe you went to Japan sometime?~

~The distance is enormous! Besides, what would I do there?~

~I don't know, these are _your_ memories, you know!~

Both were silent a minute, thinking over the information they had. 

~Now that I think about it,~ Yami Bakura began slowly, ~Those memories cover a bunch of stages in life. We've had dreams where I was a kid, and ones where I was older~

~Well, what was your family in ancient Egypt like?~

Ryou could sense the shock in his yami's answer. 

~I can't remember anything! I don't remember any childhood! The only memories I have are of tomb robbing.~

~Calm down!~ Ryou soothed ~we'll figure it out. We know another thing from your dreams; your name was Ryu. That's definitely a Japanese name. Could you have reincarnated somewhere in the middle?~

~No, I'm sure I didn't~

~So, before you were Egyptian, you were Japanese? That's what it looks like…~

~Then I was never even Egyptian in the first place~ Yami Bakura said, stunned.

~But, what about when I transformed? What was that? You used to do it as well. Why would that happen?~ They both fell silent again, wondering. Yami Bakura knew of no magic that transformed a person in that manner, just for one day, once a month, which seemed rather pointless. So it had to be either a spell laid on him when he was very young, or something he was born with. And if the second option was true, what did that make him?

Around the same time, Yugi was having a discussion with his yami as well. 

"Yami, I'm worried about Ryou. These dreams are really disturbing! Do you have any idea what they mean?"

The yami in question was currently in spirit form, and was sitting on Yugi's bed. He frowned. 

"No, it is something completely out of my experience. While I am knowledgeable on matters concerning Egypt, what he tells corresponds to none of it. That is what leads me to believe that he is in fact not describing things that happened there, but in ancient Japan."

"I guess it's good we're learning about it in school, maybe those lessons will give us some clues about what we're dealing with."

"I think I know. Demons." Yami Yugi said gravely, "something I have no experience in at all."

"What do you remember about Yami Bakura from ancient Egypt?"

"Well," he began, "he was a rather famous tomb robber. Notorious, actually. He delighted in stealing treasure, especially from the Pharaohs' tombs. The amount of treasure he stole was enormous, there was no greedier, more backstabbing, son of a-"

Yugi coughed pointedly, and his yami calmed down somewhat and continued.

"I have no idea where he was from, I think he was around at the beginning of my reign. Actually, I can't remember a time he wasn't there, but I haven't recovered my memories completely, yet. There were many stories going around then, most of them probably fiction, about his exploits. Almost every theft in Egypt was attributed to him, though there is no way he committed all of them, and people told how at times he seemed to have super-human abilities."

"So, no one really knows many facts about him," Yugi pondered, "what if he wasn't even Egyptian in the first place? What if he was…Japanese, for example?"

His yami crossed his arms. "That would concur with Ryou's flashbacks in his dreams. But it is impossible. The sheer distance between Japan and Egypt is enormous, there is no way he could have traveled the whole way in those times! Such a journey would have taken years, and the roads were dangerous. An expedition like that would never be thought of even, anyone who suggested it would be considered mad!"

"And you say there were no demons in ancient Egypt?"

"None, only Duel Monsters. And nothing like what your friend has been describing. I don't like this."

"Yami, are you sure the real reason is that you're not the center of attention anymore?" His yami stared at him in shock, but Yugi continued before he could retort.

"Until now, everything that has happened had to do with you, with Duel Monsters, with ancient Egypt. Now suddenly something is happening to Ryou, and it looks like it's not connected to anything we have experience with."

Yami considered this, then finally spoke to the nervous Yugi "I understand. I will make sure I don't let feelings like that skew my judgment." 

Yugi sighed in relief, then bit his lip. "I have a bad feeling, as if something very bad is going to happen."

"I know what you mean," his yami said, but then smiled at him. "Don't worry Yugi, I will always protect you." Yugi smiled back, answering softly, "I know."

Yami returned to his soul room, and Yugi got into bed, turning off his light. All was quiet, then-

~Man, I forgot to do my math homework!~

^*^*^*^

Later, after it happened, everyone thought back to why no one had prevented it. Maybe it was the recent fight with Malik, or maybe the woman hadn't seemed so threatening, or maybe it was just humankind's natural belief in Somebody Else's Problem being Somebody Else's Problem. None of these reasons is very satisfactory, though, and a lot of soul-searching resulted from the affair. It was also herald to the end of the peace, and brought home the very real danger they were in. 

It was another nice day, and school only marred it a little. What bothered more was the tension between Yugi's friends and Malik, neither having forgiven the other for their part in the previous day's argument. Poor Ryou was caught in the middle, and finally went off by himself to avoid the animosity (and his fan club). Malik would ride his motorcycle to school some days, and today was one of those. 

After school was out, Malik made his way over to where his bike was parked, pulling out the keys, when a shadow fell over him. Looking up, he saw a woman standing there. It was impossible to determine her age, despite her young appearance, because of the ageless glint in her eye. She had long black hair, partially tied back from her face, and a cloak hid the rest of her body. She spoke in a sultry voice, which immediately put Malik on his guard. 

"Malik Ishtar, how nice to actually meet you."

Malik glared at her, and tensed. "What do you want?"

Smiling slightly, she continued as if he had not spoken. "I have heard much of your exploits. It is such a pity, you had so much potential. Yet even now, you are unaware of the power you actually carry."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he growled.

Before he could see her intent, she snatched his keys and swung them about her index finger, gave another enigmatic smile, then vanished down the street, somehow seeming like a shadow. He stared, incredulous, then gave chase without another thought. 

She led him merrily through the streets, slowly making her way towards the warehouses at the dock. Now Malik was definitely grim, he remembered very well what had happened here. There! She had gone into one of the warehouses. He cautiously walked in after her, gripping his Millennium Item in his right hand. Inside it was dim, but he could just make out a form up ahead-

She raised her arms, smirking. This was just too easy. Concentrating, she lashed out with the lightning-like energy, hitting him directly and throwing him several feet, the Item knocked out of his hand, as she intended. 

Malik got up, gasping from the pain and the fall, only to see her pick up the Millennium Rod that had skittered sideways. "You bitch!"

"So simple," she said, "I worried needlessly. You were hardly any challenge at all."

"Who are you?" he snapped.

"I am Kuromiko Yoriko." Her lip curled in a sneer. "Yes, someone like you is definitely unworthy of carrying a Shikon no Tama shard."

Shikon no What?

She tuned to leave, stroking his Millennium Rod possessively, and Malik felt a surge of anger. He got up to attack her with his bare hands, but just then she turned back to him, a look of fury on her face. "How did you do it?" she snarled at him, "You managed to somehow seal the power of the Shikon shard to yourself! I have underestimated you."

Malik was now confused as well as angry. What was a Shikon no Tama? How was it related to his Millennium Item? He looked for something he could use as a weapon, for now Kuromiko Yoriko was advancing on him, a murderous look in her eyes.

"Ah, but there is a way to break the link," she said, smiling sadistically, "pain has been known to be extremely effective." She raised her hands again, and released bolts of pink lightning at Malik, their force throwing him back into a wall, from which he fell to the floor. He struggled to get up, a task made hard by the pain shooting through him. He was sure he had broken something. 

Yoriko was now close to him, and she grabbed his upper arms, then released her power again. Malik struggled and thrashed, trying not to scream. 

"Tough, are you? We'll see how long it will take to break you." She attacked him again, and this time he could no longer contain the screams that reflected the pain. He felt like his body was on fire, that something was tearing him apart cell by cell. The pain was endless, and he found himself begging in his mind, for someone, anyone, to help him, to make it stop. 

She leaned towards him, the sadistic smile back on her face, and whispered "No one will help you. No one even knows you're here, and they probably don't care anyway! You are mine to play with!"

*****sob*** **I'm evil…


	5. Shikon no Tama

Thanks to anyone who has been reviewing, you are really awesome! Sorry it took me so long to update, I had to write this chapter twice, it was giving me a lot of trouble. Enjoy!

Shikon no Tama 

Malik lay on the floor of the warehouse, exhausted and aching in every inch of his body, his Millennium Item held tightly against his burning chest. 

Kuromiko Yoriko glared at him in exasperation. He still wasn't giving up, despite the pain she had inflicted on him, and the spell was such that until he did, the full power of the Shikon shard wouldn't be released. Well, then he would just amuse her for that much longer…

Malik screamed as the lightning streaks of pain coursed through his abused body once again. The pain began to spread, take over whole areas of his body. His heart was on fire, his lungs were on fire, his breath was coming out in short choking pants…he couldn't stand it much longer, he already couldn't think properly. The last time she had stopped, his vision had been blurry and he could hardly breathe; now he hardly had enough breath to scream with, and each pant tore up his already raw throat. Someone had to come, it…hurt….

But no one knew. The fact suddenly screamed through his mind, as he twitched on the floor. No one would come, his sister was away, and he didn't have many friends, the only ones who might notice were Yugi's friends, but his tormentor was right. There was no way anyone would come for him. He was alone.

Yoriko smiled at the suddenly still form on the floor. He was finally breaking. She intensified her energy blasts, enjoying his hoarse screams and grunts of pain. 

Yugi and the gang were walking home, after waiting about ten minutes for Ryou. They finally gave up on him, and left without him. Not too long into the walk, they saw someone running across the intersection ahead of them, being chased by another person- who looked slightly familiar.

"Hey, is that Malik?" Joey said uncertainly. 

"I'm not sure," Yugi answered, and Tea and Tristan just shrugged. 

"Well, whoever it was, they're gone now." 

"Should we go and see if they need help?" Tea wondered.

"I dunno if we can catch them in time to be of any help…" Joey said. Their deep discussion was interrupted by Ryou, who ran toward them, out of breath.

"Hey Ryou, where were you?" Tristan called out.

"I wanted to ask Ms. Matano about some stuff, sorry if you waited for me," he apologized. "By the way, have you seen Malik? He left his motorcycle at the school, and his backpack was thrown next to it, but I couldn't see him anywhere."

The rest were shocked. It was a well-known fact that Malik would never leave his motorcycle at school after hours. 

"We saw someone who looked like Malik chasing someone a few minutes ago," Yugi said, suddenly having a very bad feeling about it. Seeing the look on Ryou's face, he understood that Ryou felt the same way. Immediately the two turned and started running in the direction Ryou's Millennium Ring pointed to, the others chasing them with cries of "wait up!"

The Ring led them to the docks, then towards one of the warehouses. When they got closer they heard an agonized scream coming from within.

"There!" Yugi yelled. They rushed in, seeing Malik lying on the floor, and a cloaked woman standing on the side with a triumphant expression on her face. The floor was covered with scorch marks. The woman turned towards them, frowning.

"So you did come. No matter, you are too late anyway." She turned to go. Yami Bakura, showing an incredible presence of mind and reflexes, threw a metal bar lying on the floor at her, successfully knocking the Millennium rod out of her hand, and it skittered across the floor. Yami, who had taken over a second before, raised his hand to perform the Mind Crush, but she vanished, seemingly fading into the wall. All that was left of her were her last words: "Don't think you've won! I'll be back…" 

Immediately they all turned and ran to Malik. He lay sprawled on the floor, his eyes closed, a trickle of blood coming from his mouth.

"He's not breathing!" Yugi cried, "We need an ambulance!"

"I've already called one," Tea said, "but if he's not breathing, it might not get here in time!"

"Should we try CPR?" Joey suggested uncertainly.

"I don't think so," Yami Bakura said, "he has a bunch of fractured ribs, they might puncture a lung, and then he'd definitely be a goner!"

"But if he doesn't breathe…" Tristan began.

An approaching siren forestalled a decision about CPR, and the ambulance arrived, the doctors running up. Tea explained they didn't know what had happened, and Malik was quickly placed on a stretcher.

"I'm going with you!" Ryou said, climbing into the ambulance when the doctors nodded. "Call Isis, tell her what happened!"

Yugi got the drift immediately. Isis had to know, he was her brother after all. Besides, she still had the Millennium Tauk; they could use it to see what had happened to Malik.

The ambulance left, and Yugi and the others immediately set off in the direction of the school, to pick up Malik's bag. 

"Do any of you have a phone number for Isis?" Tea asked, "Because I sure don't."

They shook their heads. 

"Let's check in their house, Malik must have her number written somewhere."

Yugi, Tea, Joey and Tristan made their way to the house as fast as they could. Using the keys they had found by his backpack they let themselves in, feeling a little uncomfortable. 

"This feels really weird…" Joey commented.

"Quit complaining!" Tea commanded. "Now, look for Isis' phone number!" 

The four spread out trying to find a phone number in the mess that was Malik's house. 

"Isis is _so_ going to kill him because of this mess when she gets back." Tristan grumbled. 

Tea finally found a note with Isis' cell phone number taped to the inside of one of the kitchen cabinets. She stared at it for a minute, wondering how Malik's mind worked that it was stuck in such a place. 

"Found it!" 

Everyone gathered in the living room, to watch as Tea made the call. 

"Hello?" Isis was yelling slightly, and sounded stressed.

"Hi, this is Tea Gardner speaking-"

"I know."

"I need to tell you, Malik was attacked, and he's hurt badly-"

"I know."

"Then why didn't you do anything about it?" she exploded.

"I didn't know _then_." Now Isis sounded guilty. "How is he?"

"We don't know, Ryou's with him at the hospital."

"I'm on the way to Japan now, I should be there in about two hours." Forestalling Tea's question, she continued, "The minute I knew what happened I left Egypt."

"O-okay," Tea stammered, "we'll wait at your house, ok?"

"Very well. Bye."

Ryou stood in the Emergency Room, staying to the side as Malik was put into the resuscitation room, and later rushed to surgery. Yami Bakura finally got annoyed and took over, leaving Ryou to continue his guilt trip in his soul room. Silently he pulled out the Millennium Rod that he had taken from the warehouse floor. It would be so easy to keep it, and then he would have three of the Items. But something was holding him back. He glared at the Item glinting innocently in the fluorescent lights. He could sense something about it, a kind of energy he had never noticed about the Millennium Items before. Malik was hurt badly, that much was obvious, and chances were that the energy of the Item would increase his chance of recovery. Why did he care? Yami Bakura went and sat down in the waiting room, annoyed. Malik was his hikari's best friend; it would probably bug him if he died. Was that it? Well, maybe he cared about the blonde Egyptian as well, just a little. They did have fun together sometimes; there was that time with the Swiss banks-

Quickly, before he could think of all the reasons why not to do it, he went over to where Malik was on the hospital bed and placed the Millennium Rod next to him, muttering to the doctors "He's really attached to it…" before Malik was rushed away again. If you don't get better now, he thought, I'll kill you myself. 

The next two hours were torture. They didn't know what to do with themselves, and the lack of any information about Malik was extremely frustrating. Ryou still hadn't called when they heard someone on the porch, and Isis came in, looking harried.

They stared for a minute at each other, and finally Yugi spoke softly.

"Did you bring your Millennium Tauk?"

Isis nodded, understanding immediately, and the Tauk glowed as she concentrated on its power. For the next few minutes they were treated to a grandstand view of the whole episode, which left them shocked. Isis just collapsed numbly to the sofa, and the others stood uncomfortably, not sure what to say or do. 

"Oh my god," Tea gasped, horrified that such a thing could happen.

Just then the phone rang, and Yugi leaped to answer it.

"Hello?" He wasn't sure, but his voice might have been shaking a little.

"Yugi, it's me," said Bakura.

"How is he?" Yugi was aware that all the attention in the room was focused on him.

"Well, the good news is that he will survive. He's off the respirator already. He has several fractured ribs; the doctors say he must have been thrown against a wall or something-" Yugi winced. That was exactly what had happened. "He also has a slightly fractured arm and some internal damage, and he has burns all over his muscles, on the inside kinda." Yugi relayed the information the others, and Bakura continued, "The worst part is that Malik suffered severe trauma, and the doctors say that the chance that he'll recover without brain damage is slim to none."

"What kind of brain damage?"

"You can't know, it could be anything, like paralysis, or…" he trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence. "Is Isis there? Do you know what happened to him?"

"He was attacked by this woman who called herself a 'kuromiko', who used this strange pink lightning energy on him-"

"Dark miko…" Ryou whispered.

"She was also talking about something called a Shikon no Tama, she said Malik had a shard-" 

"Shikon no Tama?" Yami Bakura practically shrieked.

"You know what that is?"

"I…I think I did, once…" He hung up. 

Yugi stared at the phone in disbelief. 

"Well?" said Joey quietly, "what do we do now?"

Isis was now crying softly, her head in her hands. Tea was looking stricken.

"Stop sitting like that!" Yugi said, "It's not going to help Malik get better. And blaming ourselves won't do any good either. We have to get to work."

"What?" Tea stammered.

"We need to start research. We have to find out what's going on, or else more people will get hurt!"

"But where are we going to find information about it?" Tristan asked. 

"Haven't you been listening?" Joey said, "the legends, man, the legends."

Soon the "Japanese Legends Study Group" was formed, and they spent all their free time alternating between watching over the comatose Malik and looking for mentions of legends in libraries. Ryou was more driven than any of the others, and was unapproachable. If anyone did, they would be severely rebuffed by his yami, especially if it was while he was poring over a book. In school two days later Tea decided to bring it up to Ms. Matano, and raised her hand. 

"Ms. Matano, could you tell us something about something called the Shikon no Tama?" 

Ms. Matano stopped her explanation on the properties of kappas, and looked at her. "There are many legends concerning the Shikon no Tama, but I wasn't planning on teaching any of them." Seeing their puzzled expressions, she elaborated. "Many of the legends are contradictory, and most have no collaboration in different areas. Usually it is possible to see similar versions of a legend in different areas, but the ones about the Shikon no Tama are very local, to this area, actually."

"Could you please tell us just a little about it?" Yugi pleaded. She sighed.

"Very well. According to legend, the Shikon no Tama was an artifact with great power, some say a ball or jewel. It could boost the power of youkai, and also humans on occasion. There are many stories concerning power struggles for it, because it was broken at some point and the pieces scattered, and each piece had nearly as much power as the whole thing together. Most legends are about two hanyous fighting to gain its power to grant their wishes."

"Hanyous?" Joey asked. "Half demons?"

Ms. Matano became rather flustered. "That is one of the reasons I don't like teaching those legends. They talk about people who were only half-youkai, something that is hardly mentioned at all anywhere else. If you are interested in learning more about them, come to me after class and I will recommend some books on the subject." 

Ms. Matano suggested two books that contained the legend, which could be found at the library. On the way to the hospital they picked them up, to start reading in his room. 

Ryou took one, called "Myths of Edo", and Yugi took "Artifacts of Power". Isis, who it seemed was nearly living in Malik's hospital room had a book too. Several minutes later, they had hit pay dirt. 

"Look," said Yugi excitedly, "they have a paragraph about the Shikon no Tama! Listen- Many years ago there was a miko, who was the most powerful ever born. Her power was great enough to fight a hundred youkai at the same time. In her time of power there was peace for humans, and the youkai lived in fear of her. One day they gathered youkai from far and wide to band together to destroy this miko. Hundreds of youkai bore down on her, but she battled them all. The fight lasted seven days and seven nights. Finally she was nearing the end of her power, and her soul, along with all the youkai, was sealed. Out of her came a glass ball in which her soul will battle youkai for eternity, while their bodies are sealed away in a cave. This jewel contains power to grant wishes, and to make youkai and humans stronger. But beware of the corrupted Shikon no Tama, for it's evil will creep into the soul of its possessor."

They all listened attentively, and Isis showed them her book, 'The Taijiya'. "In my book it says her name was Midoriko, and that the jewel was kept in the taijiya village until it was given to another miko, called Kikyou for safekeeping."

"Then my book continues the story," Ryou said, "it's telling about how Kikyou was killed by a half-demon, and her last act was to seal the hanyou. She was reincarnated fifty years later in the name Kagome, and freed the hanyou. They both went searching for the Shikon no Tama together, which had been shattered by one of Kagome's holy arrows. The name of the hanyou was…Inuyasha." He looked at the book seriously. The name Inuyasha sounded very very familiar, as if he knew it. "Something's missing in the story! There's more, I know there is!" he said passionately. 

"Don't worry, we'll find it!" Joey promised from where he was taking notes. 

"What I don't get is the whole hanyou thing," Tea said slowly. "What exactly was a hanyou? I know it's a half demon, but we know some stuff about characteristics of demons. How was a hanyou different from a full demon?"

Kagome sat on the floor in front of the shed that housed the Well. She looked at it dejectedly, wondering what she would do now that it no longer linked her to the past. Tears welled up in her eyes. 

"Hey, I thought you said you weren't going to do that any more?" the quiet voice of Souta spoke from next to her. 

She looked up at her not-so-young younger brother and attempted a smile. "I know, it's just… I don't know what to do with myself! Especially now that you and-and your family are taking care of the shrine…"

Souta sat down next to her and looked at the shed as well. "Maybe you should try going back to school? Then you can make some new friends, maybe get a job. My wife and I will be happy to have you live with us. A fresh start will do you good." He smiled at her. "Besides, you don't look a day older than sixteen, you shouldn't have much trouble."


	6. Hanyou

He was walking along a road along with his father and another black haired woman. He was hot, and was wishing that they hadn't insisted on walking all the way there. But the woman had said that it was high time he became familiar with the villages and roads leading to the Taijiya village, so he agreed. But walking at such a slow pace was really annoying. The woman looked at him and fondly touched the huge boomerang on her back. "Don't be so grumpy, Ryu! We didn't tell you the real reason we're going to my village." "What is it?" he demanded impatiently. His father grinned. "We're going to show you Midoriko's cave." "But I thought no one knew where that is now!" The woman winked. "Except us, of course! Is it worth it now?" "Yeah." They walked a little longer, skirting the village to the western side, until they reached the beginnings of some hills and cliffs. The woman led them to the bottom of a bluff, which was completely overgrown with thick plants. They fought their way through, until they reached a crevice in the rock. "I don't get it," he puffed, "why is it in such an inaccessible place?" "It's not a place we want disturbed." His father answered. They crawled in, and found themselves in a large cave. Both the woman and his father had slightly nostalgic looks on their faces. "I remember the first time we were here." she said softly. Ryu went ahead, towards the glow coming from deeper in the cave. He rounded the bend, to see a pile of youkai, who it seemed were covered with translucent glass, with a woman in the center above them all.  
  
Ryou woke up, this time peacefully, slightly earlier than usual. He could remember the woman- Midoriko- in the cave, the scene somehow serene despite the youkai all over. ~I remember the way~ ~Huh.?~ ~Slow on the uptake, as usual. The cave, Ryou! I remember how to get there!~ ~You mean we could actually go there? You think Midoriko is still there?~ Wait, that meant that he actually believed it, that he accepted that his yami was from ancient Japan, that demons were real. He contemplated it for a minute, then decided that there was no way he could actually disbelieve it. ~Are you listening to me?!~ ~Sorry! I zoned out for a minute~ ~Idiot. I said I want to go there~ ~We can't. Tokyo is a ten-hour drive from here, and you only know how to get there from Tokyo, we can't go straight there. And I am not willing to miss a school day or two to go gallivanting around Japan~ ~Damn. I will get there, somehow!~ ~Go ahead, just not during school please~  
  
The doctors said that if Malik didn't wake up in another day or so, then he might never. The study group was in his room once again, looking through more books. They had hit some used bookstores and bookstores that carried mystic books and stuff, so things were looking slightly more optimistic. Except for the silent figure on the bed. Ryou was in the middle of reading a passage about youkai pets, when he heard someone hiss in pain. He looked up, startled, to see Malik staring blankly at the ceiling. "He's awake!" he practically yelled. Everyone looked up, then immediately rushed to the bed.  
  
Malik opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. His first thought was wondering where he was, and what he was doing there. An attempt at moving sent sharp pains along his muscles, and he became aware of tubes sticking him in several places. Ok, so moving was a bad idea. Right.he became angry, remembering the encounter that had brought him to this place, which he guessed was the hospital. He moved involuntarily, and winced again. Damn it all, he was in bad shape. Malik became aware of someone talking, and rolled his eyes sideways to see Yugi and his friends and his sister standing around the bed, looking at him worriedly. He opened his mouth in surprise to say something, but what came out was a hoarse croak. Ryou gave a semi-smile. "Don't try to talk yet, you've done a number on your vocal chords." "I suppose asking if you're ok is a stupid question," Joey said, "but are you ok?" Everybody sort of laughed, and Malik rolled his eyes. Just then the nurse came running in, and shooed them out of the room so the doctors could check Malik. They never did find out how she knew he had woken up just then. All pretense of study was abandoned as they waited nervously for the verdict. "It looked like he was kinda ok," Tea said hesitantly a few minutes later, "he did respond to what Joey said." "I really hope so," Isis said. Awhile later a doctor came to inform them that it looked like Malik would suffer no permanent damage. "You should know, though, that it's a miracle," he shook his head, "if he does recover completely, it will be the first time anyone injured like that has." ~More like magic~ was Yami Bakura's comment.  
  
Talking and moving were still beyond what Malik was capable of a few days later, but his mind was in no way impaired, and he joined in the research with one of the others turning pages for him. Isis was still reading about the Taijiya, and had found a book that was supposedly records and documents from the village. As such, they weren't organized by topic as much, but contained plenty of interesting information. "I found a description of a youkai called Sesshoumaru who was the lord of the Western Lands, according to this." Everyone looked up from their books, interested. It was the first time anyone had found a definitive description of a specific youkai. "I had a dream about him a while ago!" Ryou blurted out. "Hmm." Isis commented "it says he had very long white hair, had two stripes on each side of his face, a sliver moon mark on his forehead, and wore some kind of fur thing over his shoulder." "He also carried two swords, and lost part of his left arm." Ryou interjected. Yugi looked over Isis' shoulder. "Yeah, he did." Tristan laughed. "Y'know, all these white haired guys are beginning to sound like you, Ryou! Maybe you're a demon too?" seeing Ryou's stricken look, he quickly amended, "don't take it so seriously, it was just a joke!" Malik, who had been reading over her shoulder, made a noise that sounded like "Nnasha." Tea, who had also read ahead, elaborated. "It says that the Inuyasha hanyou we've been hearing about was Sesshoumaru's half brother!" Ryou shivered slightly. The name Inuyasha had some meaning to him, but he didn't know what. They went back to their books, a sort of excitement of impending doom crackling in the air. Joey turned to turn Malik's page, then froze when he saw the paragraph. "Oh my god." Joey whispered. "Tristan, you." he looked at Ryou hesitantly. "What?" Ryou demanded, a sinking feeling rising in his gut, "what does it say?" Joey summarized what it said. "Once a month, a hanyou loses its youkai power entirely and becomes completely human. They would lose the strength, the youkai senses, and their hair and eye color would change to human." Now everybody was looking at Ryou, who had an expression of disbelief on his face. "No way!" Tristan exclaimed. "But.oh. The hair, it turned black." "That's impossible!" Ryou panicked, "you can't mean to say.I'm a hanyou?" Everybody nodded solemnly. Ryou grinned. "Cool!" Everybody facefaulted.  
  
Ryou sat in the darkening twilight, watching the sky grow dark from the top of the tree in his yard. Surprisingly, the discovery of his demonhood didn't seem to change his relations with his friends much. Joey had muttered about how it figured his yami was a demon, he was that scary, but it didn't actually bother anyone much. They had thought over what they knew, and things fell into place more easily. Since his yami had been a youkai, the great distance between Egypt and Japan was less of a problem. It also explained the times when he didn't steal, and why he was so successful. But, why didn't he remember? Yami Bakura didn't have much trouble remembering ancient Egypt, so something must have happened to make him forget Japan. Malik had asked how old he was when he came to Egypt, and Yami Bakura had shocked everyone, including himself, when he flippantly answered "fifty four". That made the question of what happened in his childhood greater, as he had lived so long already. One thing that no one had figured out was how Ryou was a hanyou. He had had white hair since he was born, so it couldn't have been just because of his yami's influence, but both his parents were human (as far as he knew), and his sister was too. Yami Yugi had suggested he was some kind of throwback on demon stock, and that his yami's presence had made it more pronounced, and that seemed the most reasonable explanation. It was such a change, knowing he was something other than human. It was kind of cool, knowing the things he was -and would be- capable of doing. For instance, he was pretty high up in the tree, and he had done it in one jump. He was thinking quietly, blocking out his yami, which was something he seldom did, but now he wanted some time when his thoughts were his own. What his yami had said about being fifty-four had stuck in his head. If he were a hanyou too, then he would have a very long life expectancy. Several hundred years, that was. He wondered what he would do with himself for that long; duel monsters wasn't that fascinating, and eventually his family (such as it was) and friends would die out. Happy thought. Ryou wondered if there were still youkai in the world. They couldn't be as violent as in feudal times, or it would be all over the media, but maybe those magazines like Yougekisha and the other supernatural ones were truer than anybody thought. The old ways had to be somewhat preserved, or people like that kuromiko couldn't exist. There was a practically twenty-four-hour guard in Malik's room, with them taking the nights in shifts. Though he tried to hide it, Malik was terrified of being left alone. So far the kuromiko had shown neither hide nor hair, but his yami said she was still out there, waiting, and he wouldn't argue. His yami knew better than them, anyway. At least Malik was healing, and incredibly fast too. It was already quite dark out, and Ryou jumped out of the tree (after bolstering his courage with the fact that he had jumped up) and started towards the house. ~You're a pathetic fighter~ As the remark didn't seem to demand an answer, Ryou ignored it. ~I have yet to encounter someone as pathetic as you~ Don't react, he told himself, don't take the bait. ~Who ever heard of a youkai who couldn't fight?~ Just don't say anything.don't think anything. ~If I actually cared, I'd be embarrassed I'm even acquainted with you~ Ryou stopped. ~Are you trying to insinuate something? Because if so, I guess I'm just being my usual dense self. I'm afraid you'll have to spell it out for me~ His yami snickered. ~Get up early tomorrow. You're going to learn how to fight if it kills you~ ~WHAT?~ Great. Now his yami was going to "teach" him how to fight. This would be fun. He could hear his yami laughing at his dismay all the way upstairs.  
  
Yami Bakura took physical form, and looked down at his sleeping hikari. There was very little light in the room, but to his enhanced senses every detail was clear. He really looks innocent, the yami mused. Maybe that's why he annoys me so often. He steadfastly ignored the small part of him that said that there was nothing wrong with looking angelic, and that he shouldn't be so hard on him. He opened the window, and jumped out, landing for a moment on the ground then leaping to the roof. He wondered why he had never been able to do that before. Perhaps because he hadn't tried. A bunch of roofs later, he was on top of the higher buildings, looking down over the city. The discovery that he was a hanyou didn't surprise him, but it didn't feel totally right either. There were still pieces missing. Maybe I should rob a bank, or hack into some army base, he mused. That might be calming. I haven't really done much since things started changing. I haven't even tried to steal any Millennium Items! Wait. If he had a longer life span, then he needn't worry about stealing the Items at all. He could just wait until the current bearers grew old, and then taking them would be easy. Yami Bakura considered this for a minute, then discarded the notion. Where would the fun be in that? The next day he would bring a laptop with a satellite connection when he visited Malik. A little creative hacking never hurt anyone.  
  
*********************  
  
In the Sengoku Jidai..  
  
Kagome was on her way back to the village, bow and arrows slung over her shoulder for protection, though she doubted any youkai would dare bother her. She was returning from a healing trip to some of the neighboring villages, and was looking forward to getting home. Sango had promised a get- together, and she would soon be seeing Inuyasha, Ryu, Shippo, and Miroku and Sango's children. Kouga and Amane might be there as well. A while later, and she was nearly home. Kagome stopped at the fork in the path, looking down it wistfully. The once-clear path to the Bone-Eater's Well was now overgrown from disuse, and hardly visible to the untrained eye. It had been over thirty years since she had returned home, and she missed her family. But the decision to stop visiting had been right, she knew. With the well dormant, there was no danger to her family from itinerant youkai, and, in a way, it prevented homesickness. It had taken her a while to get used to the Feudal Era, and if she continued traveling back and forth she might become too homesick for comforts that would only be invented in the very far future. Besides, there was always the danger of changing history. She shook her head, to clear it. While passing through the villages, she had heard some very disturbing rumors that darkness was gathering again. And that its name was Naraku. Agitated, she walked faster. They had killed Naraku, thirty years ago! Another problem was the Shikon no Tama. The jewel was still there, even though they had used up its power, but lately she had been getting little flickers from it. Could its power be returning? She had a bad feeling. If this was more that just rumors and coincidence, it meant that the days of peace would be ending soon. 


	7. Training

I'm really really sorry about the lousy formatting in the last chapter, I don't know what went wrong, and I didn't manage to fix it. I hope it didn't bother you too much (I know that it bothered me a _lot_). I really want to thank all of you who reviewed; your reviews always make my day. 

**The Chaotic Ones**: sorry I'm not putting that much in about what happens in the feudal era, but I don't want to give away the whole story too fast! I'll do my best to put more scenes from the past in. I promise that in later chapters both Inuyasha and Kagome will be appearing. 

**Smiley-chan:** Ryu isn't an Inuyasha char, I just added him in. 

**K**: Sorry I can't answer your questions, but if I did it would give away the whole story. 

Oh, and a question. I'm not sure what to do, maybe you guys can help me: do you want Malik to kill the kuromiko?

Training 

The doctors were worried. Malik simply wouldn't stay put. He had already begun his physical therapy, and was insisting on getting up and moving around, though his body was far from being healed and he winced with every movement. After he collapsed from exhaustion in the corridor, they threatened to tie him to the bed if he didn't stop. He was also trying to overcome his phobia of being alone, and tried to pretend that he wasn't plagued by nightmares. Joey said he was acting like an idiot. 

Ryou had his own problems. He thought back to the first morning his yami had woken him up to train. He had been sleeping peacefully, when he felt someone shaking him rudely. He woke up to see his yami in physical form, with a stern expression on his face. 

"Get up, hikari, there's work to be done."

Ryou groggily looked at the clock, which showed 3:00 am. "Yami!," he complained, "it's three in the morning!" 

His yami gave him a 'no duh' glare. "I assure you that it is less painful to exit through the door than the window." 

Ryou gulped. He wasn't sure his yami would _really _push him out the window, but he wasn't about to try him. Ryou scrambled out of bed and into some clothes, tripping and collapsing near the door. His yami raised an eyebrow at him. "Klutz," he said contemptuously, and walked out of the room. 

About five minutes later Ryou met him outside, shivering slightly in the predawn chill. It was dark out, almost completely pitch-black, the streetlights doing little to dispel the darkness. 

"You can start with seventy curl-ups."

Ryou's jaw dropped, but one look at his yami convinced him he wasn't joking. After a few minutes, Ryou learned the hard way that it was actually 'seventy curl-ups with no rests unless you want to get kicked'. When he finally finished, collapsing on the wet grass from exhaustion, his yami smiled. 

"Now sixty push ups."

When that bit of torture was over, Ryou was surprised to find out that only three quarters of an hour had passed. His yami pulled out a duel monster card and summoned the effect. Immediately a ring of light sprang up around Ryou's legs, limiting his movements to two small steps in every direction. He frowned in puzzlement. What…there was a _smack_, that drew his attention to his yami, who was tossing a rock in his hand, a pile of them by his feet. 

"Duck." Yami Bakura threw the rock straight at him. Ryou only barely managed to dodge it, his movements limited by the magic card, but another stone was already en route. It was only a matter of time until he got hit. 

They finished around four-thirty. His yami vanished, advising him to get some more sleep before school started, and informing him that he had the reflexes of an average brick. Ryou went upstairs, to clean up himself before trying to sleep some more. His face was remarkably unscathed, except for where a stone had opened his lip. There were more bruises on his body, though, and he ached all over. Ryou staggered back to his room, and collapsed into bed. Just when he thought he had sort of figured his yami out, he would go and do another unpredictable thing. 

Now he was lying about his wounds to the guidance counselor- again. 

"It's nothing, I just tripped," he said nervously.

The counselor looked rather skeptical, and demanded an explanation of how he managed to trip and get bruised so badly.

"I tripped on the stairs and crashed into the table," he said, "I'm really rather klutzy sometimes." According to my yami, he thought, all the time. "You know I live alone, my father is away on an archeological dig in Egypt."

She finally left him alone, and he continued towards class, to meet up with the gang in front of the classroom. 

Yami Yugi was the first one to talk. "The Tombrobber has been hurting you." 

Ryou sighed. What was this, Pick On Ryou Day? "No."

The others stared at him skeptically. "So you're saying your recent injuries have not been caused by him? And don't lie, I can tell when you are." 

"Well…" Now that thought about it, yamis in general were the heart of the problem. They never left you alone. 

"I knew it! He's hurting you again!" Yami Yugi exclaimed. The conversation was drawing attention, so Tea convinced them to continue it in a more private and secluded part of the school grounds. 

"He's not _hurting_ me," Ryou explained once they got there, "he's _training_ me."

Dumbfounded looks were the reaction he got. Actually, he wasn't sure if he believed himself. 

"Training you!" now Yami Yugi was incensed. "What kind of training leaves you looking like that! You're bruised all over, and I've seen you wincing when you move!" he clenched his fists. "Why do you keep protecting that no-good-" 

Yami Bakura had enough. He took over and glared at the Pharaoh. "If you're going to call me names, do it to my face, you coward!" 

"I'll do better than just call you names!" the two yamis glared at each other, then pulled out their Millennium Items. The others could see energy gathering around them. 

"This does not look good…" Joey muttered. 

"We have to stop them before they fight!" Tea said worridly. Tristan dragged the hose over to them. "Joey, go turn it on."

Joey stared at him for a minute, then grinned. The water burst from the hose, drenching the two yamis, and almost knocking them down. They coughed and spluttered for a minute, then turned their incensed glares on Joey and Tristan.

"Uh, maybe that wasn't such a good idea…"

"I'm going to kill them!"

"Oh no you don't, Tombrobber, I'll get them first!"

"RUN!"

About a week later, Ryou was walking home from the hospital, in the evening. He went along, deep in thought. His training had gotten harder. Now his yami was painting the stones different colors; the red ones had to be dodged, the blue ones caught. This morning-

"Hey, punk."

Ryou looked up, to see he was surrounded by a bunch of ruffians, obviously part of some gang. The leader, (the ugliest and probably stupidest of the lot) leered at him.

"Aren't you a nice boy? Hand over your money."

Ryou stepped back uncertainly. He was no good at fighting, but he wasn't going to hand over his money, and get beaten up into the bargain. If he could get far enough, he was definitely fast enough to outrun them. Ryou took another step back, but the bullies had gotten tired of waiting and one swung at his face. Without thinking, Ryou ducked under the blow, then straightened up to watch for more. 

"So, you're a smartass," the leader growled. "Surround him!" the others complied, and moved to surround him, while stacking again. Ryou continued to dodge, rather bemused at how _slow_ they seemed. Finally, he tired of it, and instinctively reached up to catch a fist aimed at his face. 

"Leave me alone." The bullies stared at him in shock, and started backing away. Ryou released the fist he had grabbed, turned away, and leapt off into the darkness. Several leaps away he stopped, and continued at his normal sedate pace, now with much more to think about. He hadn't _fought_, precisely, but his body had reacted to the threat immediately. Ryou had never thought of himself as strong; he looked up to people he considered strong, like Yugi and his yami, and his own yami. It had never occurred to him that he could be like that as well. Another thing- now he finally realized the full purpose of his yami's training. All those mornings of getting up before the crack of dawn and bruises were bearing fruit, in the form of honed reflexes. 

~Yeah yeah, don't get a stuffed head~

~Yami!~ Ryou said reproachfully, ~why didn't you tell me I was improving? Didn't you see how I managed with those thugs?~

~Of _course_ they were pathetic compared to you!~ he sounded disgusted. ~You're part youkai for goodness' sake! Besides, you have _me_ training you. If my own hikari didn't find them easy to defeat, I might actually be _worried_~ 

So he was expected to deal with that kind of threat with ease, now. That certainly put a new light on things. He had assumed he was making no progress. On the other hand, Ryou mused, it's not like his yami was exactly an encouraging type of person. Feeling much better about himself and the world in general, Ryou continued home in the darkness. 

Malik rolled over again. He kept on feeling strange things, almost like an itch inside his mind, and it was getting very bothersome. It had started not long after he'd woken up, when he had started feeling slightly strange every time Ryou was around, but the feeling had been so light that he had chalked it up to imagination or paranoia. Tonight he was feeling it again, but stronger, undiluted. It also felt farther away. Maybe- Stop it! He commanded himself. There's nothing there. You're just being your usual paranoid crazy self. Now go to sleep. 

He was standing in a clearing, panting harshly, his father a few paces before him, watching in shock as the ground was destroyed by the demon. He knew that something horrible had just happened, but couldn't remember its significance. His father turned to him, a hopeless look in his eyes, grasping something in his fist. He shoved it into a cloth bag, which he threw at Ryu. 

"Go! Quickly!"

"What? I won't leave you to fight on your own!"

"This fight doesn't matter!" he looked haunted. "Just keep them away from Naraku! No matter what- protect them with your life!"

He ran, howls from the bloodhound-youkai following him like a wake. 

Ryou woke up gasping, the final command still ringing in his ears. _Protect them with your life_. 

~Hikari~ his yami said quietly. Ryou had never heard him use such a tone before.

~What is it I'm supposed to protect?~ he sounded almost distressed, a very strange state for Yami Bakura to be in. 

~How can I protect it, if I don't know what it is?~

The next morning, it was all over the news. A man had been killed, in an alley. He had been found later in the evening, his body torn to pieces, as if by some animal. The police had no clues, not even footprints, and were cautioning people to stay in groups and not stay out late. Some killer beast was on the loose. 


	8. Youkai Attack

I'm really sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up! I'll try to be faster, really. I just had writer's block, and then I got stuck on the zillion things that it seems all need to happen right _now_. I'm not completely sure about this chapter, though. Later on I might change it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

Youkai Attack 

They had just finished learning about the social structure in the Feudal Era. It was rather complicated; the youkai and humans had separate social ladders, which sometimes interlocked. The next test had already been announced, and was on quite a bit of material, dealing with why there was such estrangement between youkai and humans, geographical boundaries, social stigma, and several specific legends. At the end of the class, Ms. Matano told them to close their books for an announcement. 

"I am very pleased with your progress." She announced happily. "I am really enjoying teaching you all. Because I feel you have really been doing well, I convinced the school administration to approve a field trip for us." A buzz started in the classroom. Ms. Matano continued over the noise. "It's going to be several days long, and we will visit shrines and historic places that are not too far from here. When we have everything organized there will be handouts about it, requiring parental signature."

Ryou bit his lip. His father hadn't been home for ages.

~Big deal. So we forge a signature~

~But…~

~Look, if he were here, he would have let you go. So technically, you're not doing anything wrong, since he's not here. Besides, _I_ permit you to go; that should be enough~

There was something wrong with this logic, but Ryou wasn't in the mood to argue about it right now. 

At the end of class, Ms. Matano called for Yugi and the others to stay a minute longer, and asked how Malik was doing. They told her that he was already much better, and would probably be leaving the hospital in the fairly near future.

She smiled. "I'm glad. I hope that he will be recovered enough to go on the trip. He seemed so interested in the material; it would be a shame if he missed the trip. You have been helping him make up the material, right?" 

They nodded. It was funny actually; their research had covered far more material than they learned in class. They even had a first-hand account of some things, from Yami Bakura. 

Time was passing, and soon April started. The police hadn't caught the animal yet, and the people were tense. Not a week went by that there wasn't new news about an attack. All sorts of scare stories were going around, starting with ancient curses and ending with alligators in the sewers and carnivorous bunnies. 

Joey was on his way to the game shop, when a familiar car pulled up.

"Hey, Mai! What are you doing here?"

Mai pouted at him from behind the wheel. "Is that a way to greet a friend? I come all this way to see you guys, and that's how you greet me?"

"N-no, I mean," Joey stammered.

"Oh, get in the car, silly. I didn't mean it. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the game shop, we're planning on hanging out this afternoon, since it looks like Malik's finally out of the hospital, though I'm not sure he's coming back to school yet."

Mai looked surprised. "Malik? Since when are you guys friends with _him_? And why was he in the hospital?"

Joey stared at her. "You don't- right, you weren't there! Oh man, you have absolutely _no idea_ what's been going on here…"

"Ryou's a youkai." Mai repeated for the fifth time. "As in, demon? As in, feudal-era myths? As in, you-"

"It hasn't changed in the last ten seconds, no." Yami Bakura said. 

"That's really surreal."

"But you know, Mai, now's not the best time to visit here," Yugi said seriously, "haven't you heard about all the attacks lately?"

"It's probably an exaggeration," Mai said, and then saw their faces. "You mean you all believe that there's some monster rampaging around?"

"I think it's a youkai." Malik spoke up. The others all turned to him in surprise.

"Don't look at me like that!" he rushed on, before he could convince himself to shut up, "For the past few weeks, I keep on sensing these disturbances at night. I thought it was nothing, but now I can feel the same type of energy or whatever coming from Ryou, but more diluted. And every night I felt it, someone was found killed or attacked the next morning." Malik fixed his eyes firmly on his shoes, certain of being disregarded, or thought crazy.

"I have read that youkai have a kind of signature energy," Tea mused. "Could Malik be feeling that?"

"Then the situation is worse than we thought!" Yugi exclaimed. "This could get very very dangerous…"

Mai noticed the look of surprise that flickered across Malik's face, and wondered. 

* * *

Ryou sighed, his head feeling rather fuzzy on the inside from the loss of hyper alert senses. He had gone through another day of school, explaining to the teacher that for personal reasons he would have black hair sometimes. He got sent to the guidance counselor for that one. Since he didn't know what to tell her, his yami took over and did his best to be uncommunicative (which was very uncommunicative indeed). Finally, the unending day was over, and Ryou went into his house, relieved that he had survived. Honestly, now people were really going to think he was weird, appearing with black hair once a month-

"Ryou!"

Ryou stopped, and stared at the man sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee. "Dad? You're back already?"

"I heard about everything that was happening here, and I could take a break from the dig, so I decided to come back- what _have_ you done to your hair? And how did you manage to turn your eyes purple?"

Ryou stood open mouthed, his mind a blank except for one thought. _Oh, shit_. 

* * * *

It was a starry night, and the shard hunters were relaxing in a village, in a rather nice hut that Miroku had finagled for. As usual, Miroku and Sango were sitting inside, their cheerful chatter punctuated occasionally by slaps. Shippo was curled up next to them, listening to the conversation. Kagome was sitting quietly to the side, sad. Inuyasha was outside, in some tree or other, having refused to spend the night inside with them. Kagome didn't understand him. Recently, things had been looking up so much. There was only one shard left, and they had made an agreement with Kagura to get her help in destroying Naraku, Hakudoushi, and the other baby. But Inuyasha was acting very distant lately. He had pretty much told her he loved her, and he knew that she loved him back, so why was he constantly staying away? Even if they didn't know how to make a relationship that spanned hundreds of years work, al least they could spend some time together now, couldn't they?

Resolving to confront Inuyasha on the subject, Kagome got up and left the hut to look for him. 

Sango watched her leave. "Do you think she'll be okay? I'm worried about those two."

Miroku looked after her seriously. "We just have to hope they sort themselves out, somehow."

Kagome walked through the silent village, searching for Inuyasha's youki. She finally found him in a tree on the outskirts of the village.

"Inuyasha," she called out.

He looked at her. "What?"

"Come down, we need to talk."

"I don't feel like coming down. I'm quite comfortable up here."

"I can't talk to you like this!"

"So why don't you come up?"

"I –arg!" she fumed. "Sit!"

Inuyasha fell from the tree, landing in a heap at her feet, and glared up at her.

"What was that for?!"

"I'm _trying_ to talk to you." Inuyasha sullenly pushed himself into a sitting position, staying out of contact with Kagome, so she sat down near him. 

"What did you want to talk about?"

"This," Kagome answered. "Why are you so distant from me? You told me you love me, and I love you back. What's wrong now?"

Inuyasha stared at her for a minute. "You really don't know, do you." He looked away. "It's never going to work between us."

"Why?" Kagome demanded.

"Because of the rosary." Inuyasha tugged at the beads in question. 

Now Kagome was baffled. "If this is about just now, I'm sorry, I just really needed to talk to you, and you didn't want to come down."

"Did you give me a chance? Did you try to convince me? Or, for that matter, why couldn't you come up? Why do you always make me come to you?"

"I- I just- I can't climb a tree that high!"

"You could have asked me to help you up. This is a perfect example. The way we are right now, we could never have a proper relationship. You control my life. Anything I do that doesn't agree with you, you just 'sit' me, and I conform. You say you love me. Who is 'me'? Is it who I really am, or who you force me to be?"

"That's not true!" Kagome yelled. "So now you're blaming _me_ for everything? You think you would do better without me?"

"I'm a youkai," Inuyasha snapped, "a fact that you don't seem to appreciate. Most youkai aren't nice! Under many circumstances, friendship is just a weakness! It may not be the happiest way to live, but it was the way I knew, and I managed."

"You got yourself sealed! You'd probably be dead several times over if I weren't here!"

"I'm not disputing that. I may be happier now, but my life is not my own to live. When was the last time I did something I wanted to, and you went along with it?"

_What a jerk!_ Kagome fumed. _How dare he go around blaming me for controlling his life!_ "That's not true! You're such a…SI-" she cut off the word with a short gasp, shocked. 

Inuyasha looked at her coldly. "See? You can't stop. Even now. Whenever I do or say something you don't like, you 'sit' me. Like I'm some kind of pet, a pet dog-youkai."

Kagome was horrified. It was true. Many of the times she 'sat' him, it was for annoying her, or behaving rudely or something.

"What if I tell you that I'm sick and tired of this whole fight. Naraku, the Shikon no Tama, my dear brother and all of Japan can go to hell in a handcart, but I'm tired of it. What if I tell you that I want to leave, and get as far away from here as possible? Will you stop me? Will you 'sit' me, because it's not what _you_ think I should do?"

_No_, Kagome prayed. _Let him be bluffing_. She watched, petrified, as Inuyasha turned away from her, and started walking away. 

"Farewell," he called over his shoulder. 

"Inuyasha, please! Don't leave!" she screamed after him, but there was no answer from the gloom.

A/N: I just read the first volume of the Inuyasha manga again, and I'm really annoyed at what happened to the series. Now I remember why at the beginning I was so obsessed with Inuyasha. The beginning was really awesome, but later on it really started deteriorating (in my opinion). I'm still following the new manga releases, and I really hope that they'll kill Naraku soon, because I'm getting heartily sick of him. I also don't like what happened to Inuyasha's character. In the beginning, I enjoyed the fact that there was a main character who was rather _bad_, but now he acts like a bad cross between Tamahome and Tasuki, or like the youkai version of Ranma. I really hope the series pick up again soon. 


	9. Change

I'm really sorry I've been so late it updating! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I'll try to update faster this time (I already started chapter 10). I'm so happy though! I just found out that there's a new Fushigi Yuugi series! That is sooooo cool! It's all about the Genbu seishi. Oh, and I dyed my hair purple. Enjoy the chapter!

Change 

Ryou opened his mouth, then closed it, not sure what to say. Of course, this _had_ to happen. His father just _had_ to decide to return on the one day of the month that he turned human. Now how was he going to explain it? His first thought was to explain the situation truthfully. How bad could-

~You can't be serious! Tell your father 'Oh, it's really simple, you see, one day I woke up and found out that I'm actually a demon. No, I'm not crazy'~ his yami sounded exactly like an overly sarcastic Ryou. 

Um. That did sound rather dumb, come to think of it. But what else was he supposed to say? A thought occurred to him. Did it actually matter? His father was hardly home anyway! He was never around for Ryou, always off on his digs. Even if he could find a way to make his father believe him, why should he bother trying? He could manage without him. He wasn't sure he even knew this man anymore. One thing was certain- this was not a person he could confide in. 

Yami Bakura followed his hikari's thought process in astonishment. At first, he had thought his hikari was actually considering just blabbing the whole thing, and was preparing to take over and try to talk some sense into him before that happened. It was a mark of how their relationship had changed: where before he would have just taken over and done as he pleased, now he waited to see what Ryou would do with the situation. Now though, he could feel his hikari mirroring some of his own feelings of resentment towards the man who just waltzed in and out of his life, leaving him to fend for himself the rest of the time. What kind of father was that anyway?

Ryou smiled, and lied calmly. "Oh, I just did this for school! It's temporary dye, my hair will be back to normal by tomorrow."

Evidently, Ryou could be an excellent liar when he put his mind to it. 

His father sighed. "Well, in that case, I suppose its okay." He smiled at Ryou. "Come sit down, I made some spaghetti for lunch."

Ryou took a plate and filled it, then sat down across from his father at the table. 

~Coffee with spaghetti? Now _that's_ sacrilege~

Ryou stifled a giggle. Ryou had once tasted what his yami called coffee. It was dark brown, the color of mud, and extremely bitter. Ryou had gagged, and tried to pour out the evil stuff, but his yami had taken over and said that if there was no appreciation in this god-forsaken country for good coffee, then more for him. Stupid hikari… 

Ryou snapped to attention, as he realized his father had asked him about school. He answered that yes, he had nice friends, no he wasn't being bullied, yes his grades were good, no he didn't have any problems with the teachers, etc. The kind of conversation you usually have with a grownup you don't know very well, and are trying to be polite to. The kind of conversation you usually want to escape from as quickly as possible. 

"Ryou," his father said seriously, "I know I haven't been a great father, but I'm starting to worry about you. I don't think this is a safe place for you anymore, what with all these murders-"

Anymore? Ohhhh, so when gangs roam the streets its _fine_, never mind that the police here is so incompetent as to be nonexistent, when anybody with money can do whatever they want that's _no_ problem, people can have criminal organizations as much as they like, steal explosives, kidnap, whatever! Come one, come all! But when a few lousy youkai kill a few people, _then_ his father decides to get worried!

Yami Bakura shook his head mentally. When did his hikari get so cynical? 

"I think maybe we should move again, there are some nice digs in Brazil that are being uncovered now, and you can live close to where I work!" he said all this with a smile, as if conferring a great favor. 

Ryou stared at his father in shock. "Move to _Brazil_? That's…" several words competed for the honor of completing the sentence, including 'ridiculous', 'crazy', and 'just plain stupid'. He settled for 'awfully sudden'.

"I finally lived in one place for more than a few months, I have friends, and you want to drag me away because of your dig?"

"Ryou," his father said agitatedly, "I know I haven't been the best parent-"

Understatement of the _century_ here!

"But I can't leave my job! And I feel that we have grown too far apart lately. I don't even really know you anymore."

Gee, what tipped you off about _that_?

Ryou shook his head. "I'm not leaving. I finally have a life, I'm finally happy! If you care about me at all, then just leave me here!" he turned and ran into his room, slamming the door behind him, and collapsed on the bed, clenching his fists. His yami came out and sat down next to him. 

"What's wrong with you today? First the sarcasm, now this…"

"This day just _sucks_! First of all, I feel completely lousy, and I've got a headache, probably from this _stupid_ transformation, I've spent the morning feeling like some zoo animal, with everybody staring at me all the time, the guidance counselor was bugging me half the morning, I've got a ton of homework, youkai are running around on a killing spree, and now my father wants me to move to Brazil. Brazil!" 

Yami Bakura had never seen his hikari in such a state. Ryou was sitting on the bed, practically hysterical, his clenched fists shaking, an angry glare on his face that looked incredibly out of place. He wondered what to do. Normally, he would just ignore him, but…but. He spoke hesitantly, feeling rather stupid. "Want an aspirin or something?" 

Ryou shot him a look that managed to be surprised, grateful, and annoyed at the same time, then hugged his yami around the waist, taking him completely by surprise. 

"You don't think he can _really_ take me away…?" Ryou whimpered.

His yami gave him a gentle hug in return. "Don't worry. No matter what, I won't let him do anything against your wishes!" he disentangled Ryou from himself. "Why don't you take a nap? You'll probably feel better after some rest." Yami Bakura quickly jumped out of the window, and went to his favorite tree-perch, putting his face in his hands. Ra, he thought shocked, I can't believe I said that! I'm turning into a fluffball, like Yugi and his pathetic friends. Gotta go steal something, quick. 

He was walking along a shady path, proudly carrying a bag of herbs and a quiver of arrows for his mother, who was walking beside him. Soon they reached a small clearing, in front of a big tree, from which a well could be seen to the left, through the trees. His mother pointed at the tree, and said as she always did:

"See, Ryu? That's where I first saw your father, pinned to the tree, when I came out of the well there. Back when it was called Inuyasha's Forest. Now they just call it Goshinboku Forest." She trailed off into memories. Ryu nodded, as he always did. He had heard the story many times. 

Ryou woke up, the image of the large tree still in his mind. So, it was true-the Inuyasha they had been reading about had been his yami's father. 

~It's strange, to think that we're reading about your family in history books~ he commented. 

~Not only that…~ his yami answered. ~We were wrong. We're not half-youkai, we're only quarter-youkai. I'm sure my mother was human. But what did she mean by 'when I came out the well'? I just can't remember…~

Yugi couldn't sleep. He kept on waking up, the nagging feeling persisting in preventing him from sleeping properly. 

~Hikari, what's _wrong_?~ his yami asked tiredly, after the tenth time Yugi woke up.

~I swear, Yami, it's driving me nuts! There's something wrong with the mirror!~

Yami Yugi gave a mental groan, and tried to talk some sense into his hikari. ~Yugi, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the mirror! You're probably just overtired or something.~ Normally he wouldn't disregard his hikari like that, but it was the absolute middle of the night, and he was _tired_. ~And besides, who ever heard of a haunted mirror?~

~I tell you, it's watching me!~ Yugi got out of bed, the darkness in the room seeming suddenly sinister as he made his way over to where the body-length mirror hung on his wall. The whole room looked different in the dark, full of lurking shadows. Yugi looked in the mirror hesitantly. All he could see was the dark silhouette of his reflection, looking both eerie and familiar, and yet somehow normal. 

~See?~ his yami said reassuringly ~it's nothing~

Abruptly, the reflection began changing, taking on a strange horrible form, that seemed to be fighting to be released from the mirror. It stretched long, ethereal arms towards Yugi's neck, mad eyes glowing red as mist began clouding the room. Almost petrified with horror, Yugi did the first thing that came into his mind. He picked up the nearest thing (which happened to be his duel disk) and smashed the mirror. Amidst the flying shards, reality abruptly reasserted itself, as the creature vanished, leaving only an awful, heartbroken, animal wail that echoed through the night. 

Malik sat up abruptly, the details of his nightmare quickly escaping. He put his head in his hands tiredly. When was the last time he had slept well? His body tensed in anger at what _she_ had done to him. The quiet silhouette of his sister watched him from the doorway. 

"Malik?" she said quietly. 

"I'm going to kill her," he hissed. His eyes had a half-insane intensity to them, which had not been seen since Battle City. "I'm going to kill her!"

Isis silently left the room. In the hallway, she abruptly leaned against the wall, and closed her eyes, fingering the unresponsive Millennium Tauk. Not again, she prayed. She gave a sad sigh. She wished Yugi hadn't insisted she keep the Millennium Item. It didn't work for her anymore, but she could understand that it made sense for the Items to be distributed among many people, so anyone looking for them would have a harder time of collecting them all. It was a burden she would be happy to be rid of.

Joey ran out of his house in a rush. He had overslept, and was going to be late meeting up with the gang. He was pelting down the stairs of his apartment building, when he heard a shrill scream from one of the other apartments. He paused for a minute, uncertain, when a door at the end of the hall burst open. Out rushed a cockroach, about the size of a cocker spaniel, its huge antennae spread wide, its six legs carrying it quickly into the hall. Joey stared aghast at the monster, which immediately began advancing towards him. He pulled off his backpack, swinging it like a club at the creature's head, to ward it off. The blow from the heavy backpack stunned it for a minute, but definitely wasn't enough to kill it. Joey prepared so smite it again, when he heard a piercing war cry from the apartment the cockroach had emerged from. A young woman wielding an enormous knife leaped at the thing, and stabbing it repeatedly in the head while yelling, "Die, youkai! Die! Diiiiiiiiie!", ignoring the black blood splattering all over the place. Joey quietly backed away, and made a run for the stairs, slightly shell-shocked by the display of ferocity. Who had said that women were the weaker sex?

The city was in general turmoil. No one knew exactly how to deal with the changing reality. The city ministers were conferring with the police, trying to decide whether to bring in the army to deal with the problem, and what could be done to protect the populace. People were warned not to go out in groups of less than three, and were also advised to carry something that could be used as a weapon with them. The authorities were reluctant to hand out firearms, as they already had enough trouble with gangs, thanks a lot. Surprisingly, the populace was adapting to the crazy situation rather well, all things considered. At least, they weren't panicking…

As they walked out of the schoolyard, Tea was regaling them with her own youkai story. 

"-Anyway, there was this young ballet dancer who used to live near my house who died of cancer, and now every night in the moonlight you can see this glowy form dancing around her front yard, all night. It's scary, but also rather beautiful…"

Tristan shuddered. "At least I don't seem to see as many youkai around where I live. I don't think I could deal with it."

Abruptly they heard a call from Mai, who came running towards them. "Hey, guys!"

"Hey Mai!" Joey said cheerfully, "What happened to your car?"

Mai made a face. "I had to leave it a few roads back, where a pipe burst. So I figured I'd come meet you guys, I'd rather not be walking around alone if you know what I mean."

"Well, you're definitely welcome!" Yugi said cheerfully. Malik turned to where his motorcycle was parked, then made a strangled noise. 

The others turned towards him, questioningly, and then in the direction he was looking. A scaly lizard youkai was sitting on top of his motorcycle, which was smoking slightly. It was electric green, with red blotches, and was about a meter long. It appeared to be trying to eat the motorcycle, and was doing a rather good job of it. 

"My…motorcycle…!!!" 

The monster just hissed at him insolently. Malik growled, pulled out a gun, and fired six shots into the creature's head, between the eyes. It twitched and fell dead. He ran over to the fallen machine and shook his head sadly, then kicked the youkai corpse viciously. 

"Malik, do you have a license to carry a gun?" Yugi asked hesitantly.

"No."

"You don't seem to be losing much sleep over that…"

"Nope."

A few blocks later, the group split up. Joey, Mai and Bakura went one way, as Ryou's house was in the same direction as Mai's hotel, and he and Joey volunteered to walk her back. They chatted on the way, but fell silent as they walked into a block that looked…well, sinister didn't begin to describe it. A pack of zombie dogs were snuffling around the street. All the windows of the nearby houses were closed, and several cars showed signs of being chewed. A thorny green vine wound its way around the cars and telephone poles. As one, they stopped walking. 

"Isn't there some other way?" Mai asked nervously, as the zombies began shuffling towards them. 

"Don't worry," Joey said, "Ryou's a youkai too. He can get rid of them, right Ryou?"

"Um, I'll try." He said. Actually, he wasn't sure. He was about to ask his yami for help, when the vines abruptly began moving. One wound its way around his ankle, yanking him off his feet. Another knocked Mai into a car, and sent Joey sprawling. In the middle of the street, a pile of them was coming together, finally becoming a humanoid creature with vines trailing from its hair and fingers, its legs made of vines as well. It smiled. 

"You have a Shikon shard!" it said gleefully. A vine curled itself at Ryou quickly, snapping the cord around his neck that held the Millennium Ring and sending it flying. More vines came to encircle his arms and legs, the thorns tearing into his skin. 

"But first, I must get rid of this part-youkai trash…"

And now for my end-of-chapter rant. I've noticed that many people seem to hate Kikyou. The truth is, I think she's more of a tragic character that just a bitch. I mean, the reason she acts the way she does is because she _doesn't have the option of acting otherwise_. Since she died hating Inuyasha, she's forced to continue in the same state she was in when she died, because she's really still dead. So, that fact that she keeps on trying to drag Inuyasha into hell with her or whatever is not really her fault. It's rather sad, actually…I mean, she's static, forced to stay in the same state in a world that is not equipped to deal with something unchanging. She shouldn't be there at all, really, b/c the world of the living is no place for someone who's _dead_. 

I also want to say something about Malik's name. I know that there's a lot controversy about what his name actually _is_. I mean, the dub version called him Marik (*shudder*), but that makes no sense whatsoever. The name Malik is an Arabic name, which makes perfect sense, as Malik is an Arab. The proper pronunciation of the name is actually with the emphasis on the second syllable, Ma_lik, _('a' like in 'ah' and 'i' like 'ee'). So the American dub is mispronouncing a Japanese mispronunciation. That's…sad. 


	10. Reconciliation

See? I updated fast!

**Smiley-chan:** Thanks for telling me about the whole l/r thing, but it still doesn't change what I said. Since the original name isn't in Japanese at all, the translators shouldn't go by the limitations of the Japanese language! Since the Americans can write 'Malik' they should call him that, since that's the name. I dunno, it just bugs me. Glad you liked the chapter, by the way. 

**Shining Charizard:** It's weird O_O? Well, I guess I agree. I think I have weird ideas too. And I think Ryou is one of the best characters in the show, aside from Malik and Bakura. Trust me, I'd be ecstatic if they just ignored the pharaoh and stuck to the other _more interesting_ characters.

**Dark-Sephy**: You know, I hadn't thought about the genre so much. I originally thought that it would be funnier, but I guess the plot got the best of me…

**Kikoru:** I'm trying, really. 

**Shadow Dragonia:** I'm glad you like it! Makes me really happy to hear that (especially when I spend time writing that I should be studying physics or something).

**Moose lord:** okay…^_^.

**SchizoAnimeDelinquentFoxDemon:** That's one heck of a name you've got! @_@.

Currently reading: The Elfstones of Shannara (Terry Brooks), The Wars of the Jews and the Romans (Josephus Flavius), Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody (don't remember). 

Reconciliation 

Susan sat in her normal, boring kitchen, reading the newspaper. It wasn't the greatest newspaper around, their international reporting wasn't up to par, but it was nice for the local news. Susan's long hair, which she had never cut because of her family's tradition, was coming out of its schoolteacher-ish bun to hang partially around her face. She lived in a rather prosperous neighborhood, in a smallish average house in Highland Park, New Jersey, near the school where she taught history to bored students. She was a bright woman, looking to be in her late twenties, who had already published several papers about the history of the United States, and was on her way to earning her Doctorate while teaching in the local high school. She only saw her family rarely, preferring not to have them running around where her students or her law-abiding, normal neighbors could see them. Susan finished her coffee, put the mug neatly in the dishwasher, and folded up the paper. Sundays were definitely a wonderful invention, she mused as she sat down on the living room floor and meticulously began polishing an old sword, which was an ancient family heirloom. She watched the play of light on the old blade, which had lost none of its edge and aura of power, remembering the feelings that had been bothering her lately. She stopped polishing for a minute, to finger the small pink stone set in her necklace. Actually, it looked more like a shard of something than a stone. What could be causing all the disturbances in Japan? 

Just then, the phone rang. Picking up the cordless, which had been lying on the sofa, she answered and found a familiar voice at the other end. 

"Lewis? What's up?" There was a moment of silence.

"No, as far as I know, none are in the Japan area, and they're all accounted for, except for the Lost ones, as usual." More silence, while the voice on the other end chattered excitedly.

"You think they've actually been _found_?" she exclaimed, "That's….After all these years!" She listened again. "Active? You mean, youkai are waking up again?! I think we need to contact the others. This could be serious!" She cut off the connection.

If the Lost Shards of the Shikon no Tama had indeed been found and were becoming active, it could mean the end of reality as humans had come to recognize it. She only hoped they weren't too late. 

The sun beat down on the youkai-ridden Domino city. Ryou winced, blood running down his arms. He called for his yami to take over, before remembering that the Millennium Ring was currently lying on the pavement, preventing his yami from helping him. Great. He tensed his muscles, then quickly pulled in his arms and legs violently, trying to wrench them free. The move surprised the youkai, managing to loosen the bonds. But before he could get free, it snarled and sent more vine tendrils to capture his limbs once again. This time he could hardly move. 

The youkai glared at him. It was impossible to tell whether it was male or female. The skin was rough and greenish, tapering off into vines below the waist and at the fingertips. Its hair was also made of vines, though these were finer. The eyes were a blank red, set deeply in a face that was reminiscent of humanity, but with wider cheekbones, and the face coming forward it what looked more like a snout than a nose. Joey pushed himself off the ground, wondering what to do. To his left, Mai gave a faint groan, the bleeding gash in her leg impeding her movement_. I have to distract it, enough for Ryou to get free so he can attack properly_, he thought. It was probably the only useful thing he could do. He picked up a metal beam, and ran at the monster, ignoring Ryou's cry not to. The metal cut through some of the vines, and the monster snarled again, this time in pain. It had not thought the human capable of hurting it. It lashed out with more vines, knocking Joey down, where he lay, stunned. The youkai laughed at Ryou's shocked look, and Mai's pained one. "Oh, did I hurt your friend?" it sneered, "Don't worry, soon you won't worry any more!" another thorny vine shot towards Ryou, wrapping around his neck. The youkai laughed. 

Ryou struggled in despair. He wasn't trained enough to fight the youkai off now, and he couldn't move anymore, anyway! The thorns tightened, and he wondered vaguely whether he would suffocate, or have his throat cut by the thorns first. He was going to die. 

Kagome packed what she needed into the bag. She put in enough food for a few days, some extra clothes, and grabbed her bow and arrows. Sango watched her in silence. 

"Kagome, are you sure you want to do this?"

Kagome sighed, and sat down on the cold ground. "Sango, I have to. I completely bungled the whole thing. It's all my fault that Inuyasha left!"

"It's very dangerous, you know." Sango said quietly. 

"I know." Kagome saw the pleading look in Sango's eyes. "No, you shouldn't come. I bungled it, and I'm going to fix it."

Sango sighed in defeat. Nothing had convinced Kagome to stay. They had reasoned, threatened, pleaded, but to no avail. "At least take Kirara with you. You need some kind of transportation."

"And protection?" Kagome asked dryly.

"And protection." Sango agreed firmly. She quickly clasped Kagome's hand. "You'll come back, right?"

"I will." Kagome promised. She ran outside, and climbed onto Kirara's back, waving to the other Shikon hunters as Kirara ran up into the sky. 

As one, the three turned away from Kagome, who was vanishing into the morning sky, and went back into the hut they had stayed in. They had many preparations to make. Hakudoushi wasn't going to wait upon their pleasure, and they would have to keep up a normal façade, or else he would be attacking them. It was no secret that the main powers in the group were the miko and the hanyou. 

"I say we follow the same path we've been taking," Miroku suggested. "Kagome will definitely be able to follow us, and if we've advanced in our search by then, that's all to the good." 

Kagome flew through the sky, the wind blowing through her hair, the sun warm on her back. She followed her feelings. She could still sense Inuyasha's youki, somewhere ahead, and was intent upon following it to its source. Hakudoushi could go hang. She had more important things to do right now than follow him around aimlessly. 

She was not aware of exactly how long she spent searching. Youkai stayed away from her mostly, as if they sensed she was in no mood now for any of their nonsense. Finally, she could sense Inuyasha nearby. She left Kirara in a nearby clearing, patting the small cat-youkai on the head, and telling her to wait for her there. Kagome walked into the clearing, and saw the familiar form of Inuyasha, his hair blowing slightly in the wind. He looked at her coldly. 

"Hello, Kagome."

Now that she was here, a million things that she needed to say came to mind, but she stayed silent. 

"Did you want something?" his voice was still expressionless, as if he couldn't care less about her. 

"Not really," she whispered. She held out both hands, and concentrated on the rosary around his neck. Slowly, feeling the power in it, she advanced towards him. Inuyasha just watched her, wondering what she was doing. Kagome finally reached him, and she caught hold of the necklace with both hands. She gave a quick jerk outwards, and the necklace shattered. The beads flew every which way, then disappeared into small glowing balls of light that dissipated quickly. 

"Here, Inuyasha," she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking, "You're free."

Inuyasha raised one hand to his neck, the familiar weight of the hated rosary now gone. He still didn't speak. Kagome backed away several steps, then stopped again, wondering what to say now. 

"I just wanted to let you know," she said timidly, "that- I mean, if you want, um, would you please come back and help us?" she rushed on, "It just won't be the same without you!" God, that sounded lame, even in her own mind.

Inuyasha was currently waging a serious war with himself. Should he go back? The truth was, he missed their group, the way they laughed and fought together, the way they supported each other. It amazed him that Kagome had come so far, just to free him of the rosary. But he still didn't move.

Kagome saw he wasn't moving, and turned away sadly. She hadn't thought that he would want to come, but she still had had to hope! She started walking back to Kirara, but Inuyasha's voice stopped her.

"You're not going to wait for me?"

She stopped in surprise and looked back. Inuyasha gave her a halfhearted grin. "How do you expect to fight Naraku without me, huh? I suppose I'll have to come back to protect you from making total fools of yourselves."  
Kagome's eyes filled with tears. She turned and ran back to him, straight into his open arms. She was crying now, the tears spilling freely from her closed eyelids. She felt a hand on her chin, lifting it up, wiping the tears gently away. "I was so afraid you wouldn't want to come back," she whispered.

The hand on her cheek stilled. Kagome opened her eyes, afraid she'd said too much. Instead, she found Inuyasha looking down on her, his expression one of intense feeling. "I will never, _ever_ leave you, Kagome. Don't make that mistake again." In his voice she heard the love, protection, possession, all directed at her. She stared into his eyes, and he slowly closed the distance between them and kissed her.

Kagome wished the moment would never end. But, as all good moments do, so did this one. An urgent meowing from the trees ahead brought them out of their stupor, and Kagome grinned. "Let's go back home," she said.

Hand in hand, they ran toward the calling Kirara. 

Kagome sat in her old room, having finished her homework long ago. She hadn't considered how boring learning all this material again would be, but it was nice having friends again. She looked out the window sadly. She had gotten used to having a view of buildings and streets once again, though it still seemed strange after spending so many years in feudal Japan. The question rose once again in her mind. What did one do with near-immortality if one had no one to share it with? She sighed. 

Her brother knocked lightly on the door, and came in. 

"Brooding again, Kagome?" 

Kagome gave him a tired smile. "You know I am, Souta. And yes, it's still the same thing. It hurts so much to have left Inuyasha and Ryu. I will never see them again!" tears filled her eyes. That hurt the most, knowing that she would never see her husband and son again; never know if they were alive or dead. No, that wasn't true. She knew they were dead. No youkai lived for three thousand years. But she still wanted to know what became of them. 

Souta saw the familiar pain clouding his sister's face. He couldn't know exactly what she was going through, but he could guess the pain. He would be devastated if he were to lose his wife and children the way Kagome had. He changed the subject. 

"Have you heard about what's going on in Domino city?"

Kagome looked startled. "No, I haven't. What's happening?" The truth was, she had been rather out-of-it in general since she had returned. 

"There have been lots of murders and attacks there lately. The locals claim that they were caused by youkai."

"Youkai?!" Kagome exclaimed. 

"Many people are skeptical, but the phenomena does seem to be spreading. And from what's been seen on the media, it's either a very elaborate hoax, or youkai really are returning."

Kagome digested this, then sent out her senses, searching. Immediately she felt familiar auras- many youkai, and Shikon shards. How could she have been so blind, not to notice, and all this practically on her doorstep? 

"I was thinking," Souta said, watching her face, "that maybe it might be a good idea for you to transfer schools?"

Kagome smiled. It seemed that the talents of a trained miko were once again needed. That might help her forget. "That would be an excellent idea." She gave him a grateful smile, got up and threw her arms around him. "Thank you, Souta!"

A/N: I've already done a few fanarts for this fic. You have no idea how much fun it is drawing Ryou in a haori ^_^. I also drew Ryou and Bakura in the Inuyasha style, and they look almost _exactly_ like Inuyasha, but without the ears. That's where I got the idea for the fic, actually. I also tried drawing Ryou in the Fushigi Yuugi style. He came out adorable, and looking nothing at all like Ryou. Freaky. 


	11. Berserk

Boy, this chapter was hard to write. I spent ages, rewriting and adding bits about a zillion times. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, and to all of the new reviewers! 

I also want to give an enormous (if belated ^_^U) thanks to SeventhDaughter, my proofreader, who was the one who encouraged me to write this story in the first place, and continues to be an incredible amount of help.

Shining Charizard- I haven't posted my fanart anywhere, for two reasons, the main one probably being that I have a teensy huge problem of lack of confidence in my work, and am veeeeery critical of myself. I also haven't gotten around to posting. I could email them to you or something, if you really want, but you don't have to. 

Gah. With all my work, is doesn't look like I'm going to be finishing any books any time soon….

Berserk 

_I am going to die_. Almost immediately as the thought occurred to him, it seemed ludicrous. There was no way that a wimpy youkai like this one could kill him. It was hilarious, actually, that it thought it had a chance. He would have to show it its error. Ryou smiled cheerfully at the thought of the youkai's imminent demise. 

Joey groaned, trying to focus his eyes. He managed to concentrate through the fog in his mind, enough to understand that the situation hadn't changed. The youkai still had Ryou, and it looked like he and Mai would be the next to die. Joey watched numbly as Ryou's body suddenly went slack in its bonds. But almost immediately he saw Ryou tense again, then start shaking. _He's laughing!_ Joey thought incredulously. Ryou looked up, a savage smile on his face. Joey gasped, and the youkai flinched in surprise. Ryou's eyes were no longer a warm chocolate brown, but a harsh angry red, his pupils black slits. Long fangs jutted out of his mouth, and two slightly triangular lines ran down his cheeks. He looked incredibly amused at the situation. 

The youkai stared at him in fear. "Impossible!" it whispered. It knew, with complete certainty, that it would die. 

Ryou wrenched both his arms easily out of the vines that imprisoned them, the thorns no longer bothering him. He leaped lightly at the youkai, knowing that any attempt it made at escaping would be futile. With his right arm, he slashed downwards, his claws easily tearing into the monster, scattering bits of it in all directions. Dark purple blood gushed out, coating his hand up to the elbow. Ryou stood for a minute, relishing the feeling. It was wonderful! Giddy with the power rushing through him, he looked for something else to kill. His eyes rested immediately on the zombie dogs, which had been forgotten until now, and were attempting to escape. Ryou took a flying leap into the air, bringing his arm down in an arc that ripped the creature in front of him to emaciated bits of gore, and left a deep gash in the sidewalk. More! He brushed his hair away from his face, his fingers leaving bright bloody trails on the skin, and continued his mission of destruction. It only took several minutes for the area to be clear of most living things. The destruction Ryou wreaked was worse than anything the vine-youkai could have possibly done. Several cars had been torn apart, and the sidewalk and street bore deep trenches made by his claws. He couldn't remember when he had been so utterly happy. He could practically feel power rushing through him, and knew, without a doubt, that he could do anything he wanted. He was invincible. He turned, sensing two more living things. His face lit up. Killing was such fun!

Joey crawled over to Mai, turning his face away from the senseless destruction Ryou was indulging in. Maybe if he didn't look, he could pretend that it wasn't happening. 

"Mai, are you okay?" he asked worriedly. 

Mai finally stirred, and opened her eyes, focusing on Joey. "What happened?" she said weakly.

"Don't worry," he reassured her quickly, "I'll get you to the hospital as fast as I can."

Mai smiled weakly, then focused her eyes on something beyond Joey. She would have screamed, but couldn't find the breath. "Oh my God…!" 

Joey turned, and saw Ryou standing there, still smiling his ghastly fanged smile. Deliberately, Ryou brought up one hand, and curled his fingers into claws. 

"Mai," Joey said urgently, "you have to get out of here. I'll try to keep him occupied long enough for you to get away!" he had never thought that his death would come at the hands of Ryou Bakura. The urge to panic, to run, was almost overwhelming, but he couldn't. He had to hold Ryou off long enough for Mai to get away. 

Ryou watched them talk, then wondered why he was hesitating. Why did he feel like something was wrong? Why did he care? He stooped down, and grabbed Joey's arm, his claws digging into his flesh, ignoring Joey's wince. Ryou stared at him for a minute, trying to understand. He let go of the arm and studied his bloody hand for a minute. He wanted to kill! Abruptly, he was horrified, nearly choking on it. He wanted to _kill_! Ryou collapsed to the ground with a sob, the enormity of what he had done hitting him. 

Joey watched in surprise as Ryou's face abruptly snapped back to normal, the demonic features giving way to his gentle ones, and Ryou collapsed into a heap on the ground. He touched Ryou's shoulder, only to have the other wince away from him violently. 

"Ryou, get up, we have to get out of here! Mai's hurt!" he was too, for that matter, but he wasn't about to remind Ryou of that. Ryou didn't react, his eyes still staring blankly off into space. Joey looked around, quickly locating the gold glint of the Millennium Ring. He got up as fast as he could, picking up the golden pendant and draping it over Ryou's neck when he made no move to accept it. Yami Bakura took over immediately, a rare look of confusion on his face. 

"What the hell happened here? And what happened to my hikari?" 

A reply was forestalled by the pounding of feet, as Yugi and Malik ran full tilt into the street. 

"I _told_ you they'd be here!" Malik said.

"Ok, ok," Yami Yugi grumbled. They both ran over to where the three were standing, or sitting (in Mai's case). 

"I suggest you get out of here, the police is on the way." Malik suggested, seeming not to even notice the demolished street and Bakura, Joey and Mai's bloodied states. 

Joey looked at him incredulously. "_That's_ what you have to say!?"

"Look," Malik said, annoyed. "I _know_ that something's very wrong, but do you really want to explain it to the army?" 

Malik turned to help Yami Yugi pick up Mai, but stopped when she flinched away from him. He pulled back, hurt, though his face didn't show it. Bakura finally picked up Mai, and the group made good their escape, coming to a stop in a nearby alley, to decide what to do next. 

"We have to get Bakura cleaned up quickly," Yugi said, "let's just say that he doesn't look good."

"Ryou's house is closest to here." Yami Bakura said. Then he would also get out of his hikari what exactly had happened. The group turned to leave the alley, but stopped short as a cloud of mist appeared before them. They stared in disbelief as it emitted a loud pop, and turned into a young man. He had sandy hair that fell over his face and pupil-less bright blue eyes. His ears were pointed, and they could see a long, brown, fluffy tail behind him. He was wearing slightly faded jeans and a red t-shirt. 

"What a mess!" he exclaimed. "That's really irresponsible of you, you know! Don't you know that you should watch yourself? I mean, fine, with all the low-level youkai running around its not like- wait a minute, who are you?"

"Who are _you_?" Yami Bakura growled. 

"My name's Fracastorius, but call me Tori, everyone does." Tori did an abrupt double take. "You're not a hanyou! I thought you were, it's not really that rare, but you're a quarter-youkai! There haven't been any for _ages_! I didn't know that quarter-youkais could turn full youkai. That's really weird. It was your first time? You should be careful, it gets harder to turn back each time. But your parents probably warned you all about _that_. What _is_ your name? Who are your parents, by the way?" he definitely could talk a mile a minute. 

"My name…is Ryu," it sounded strange to him. "My father was Inuyasha."

"No way!" Tori exclaimed. "_The_ Inuyasha? That's impossible! But no, you're telling the truth. How is that possible?! My grandfather always wondered what happened to him!" he got an introspective look suddenly. "Got to think about that…." He vanished with another pop. 

"That was a kitsune, a fox youkai," Malik commented. 

"Make that an _annoying_ one," Yami Bakura growled. 

Mai had been taken to the emergency room to get her leg patched up, but insisted that Joey stay with Ryou to see what was wrong with him. After several minutes of arguing, he finally agreed. Now Ryou was sitting on the sofa, his legs pulled up to his chest, doing his best not to look at anybody. He had gotten cleaned up a bit, though his clothes were still covered with blood, and his hair had dark red highlights. His yami was standing to the side, trying to remember if something like that had ever happened to him, and wondering what exactly to say while pretending not to care. 

"Look, Ryou, it's ok," Joey said, "I mean, no one was hurt, and that youkai would probably have killed us all!"

Ryou just winced. 

"It's not like it was your fault or anything," Yugi said. 

Ryou couldn't stand it anymore. He raised his face, tears standing in his eyes. "You don't understand anything! I loved it! I loved every moment of it!"

Complete silence met his outburst.

"I don't know what to do now. I've never felt like that, I was so _powerful_, it's the most wonderful feeling I've ever had. And I can't stand it! I could have killed Mai and Joey, and I wouldn't have cared a bit. I _want_ to feel like that again!" he buried his head in his knees again. "How is it possible, to want something and at the same time to hate and be disgusted by it? I hate myself! How can I live with myself, knowing that I have done such things, and enjoyed them, and want to do them again, even when I don't?"

"Welcome to the world," Malik muttered. 

Ryou brought his head up with a snap, to stare at Malik. Was that was Malik was going through, all the time? "Malik?" 

Malik looked startled, as if he hadn't meant to say anything at all, but there was no way he could back out now. 

"Think about it. If you turn into a youkai, you'll be happy. You'll never have to worry about anything."

Four dumbfounded stares were directed at him. 

"You could do whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted. You wouldn't have any friends, but you wouldn't care. You probably wouldn't have your yami, either, but it wouldn't bother you anyway. Nothing would ever bother you!"

"What's your _problem_?!" Ryou practically yelled. "It sounds like you're _trying_ to convince me to spend the rest of my life as a bloodthirsty youkai! I could never live like that! It doesn't matter how good it sounds, it's completely _wrong_. How can you actually think that _I_ would give up my friends, my life, for _that_!? Is that what _you_ would do?" Malik flinched at the last, but didn't back down.

"No. I _knew_ you wouldn't. But _you_ didn't. Don't you understand?" Malik took a deep breath. "If you hadn't rejected it totally, it would have eaten you up inside, you would always be wondering if you might not go down that path someday. But now it won't happen, because you've made your choice, and that makes you stronger." At this point, he had everyone's complete attention. 

"Life is full of tests. Every thing that happens to you is a test of some kind. And when you make the right decisions, when you pass the tests, it makes you stronger. But not everybody gets tested the same way. Some people go through life without ever coming up against the difficult problems. For some people, the path between good and bad is always clearly marked, and the decision is easy. When the dilemmas you have are complicated, and you make the right decision, it makes you stronger. Don't you see, Ryou? The decision to reject full demonhood is a hard one. Anyone who has never felt bloodlust could never understand what that decision has cost you, and how hard it is for you to accept it. But the fact that you _did_ makes you stronger! You shouldn't hate yourself for failing sometimes, that's what it means to be human. Even if you have to fight with yourself over the decision, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you _do_ what's right."

"So, having to struggle to be good doesn't make you bad?" It was more of a statement than a question. The idea was rather strange to him. He had thought that being good meant that you never even considered being bad, that you didn't have to fight with yourself over it all the time. 

"What about you?" Ryou said quietly. 

"What _about_ me?" 

"You should listen to yourself sometimes."

Malik shook his head slightly. "We're talking about _you_ right now."

"You've gotten rather good at changing the subject." Yami Bakura commented. 

"Since you made the right decision," Ryou said, "Why don't you trust yourself?"

"I don't count."

"Why not?"

"I'm crazy."

"You're not!" Ryou protested.

"That's not an answer, and you know it," Yami Bakura snapped. 

Malik slammed his fist against the wall. "Leave me alone!" he turned back to them, a hunted look on his face. Yami Bakura grabbed his arm. 

"When are you going to stop running away?"

Malik tried to wrench his hand away, but Bakura was easily stronger. Finally, he stopped struggling, and just stood, his eyes focused on some faraway thing at floor level. 

Well? Did you see that coming? I've been planning that part ever since I came up with this idea…poor Ryou…

I just made a very interesting discovery. The manga and the anime of Yugioh, are very very different. I mean, I thought it was just the dub version of the anime that changed the series, but it turns out that there are a ton of things that happen differently in the manga. Usually more violently ^_^. I find that I like the manga much better.

I'm so happy! I drew Kuroro (from HunterXHunter)! Wai! (ignore that, I'm just excited.)


	12. Instructor

I'm so sorry it took me so long to update! See, first I had a 3 day seminar, and then my school decided to do this nice thing called 'test week', where over 2 weeks we have a test every 2 days, on all the material of the last 2 years. Joy. But don't worry, I am _definitely_ not giving up on this fic! Thanks to all my reviewers, you all are so wonderful! I got so many reviews for the last chapter!

Oh, and let it be known that Malik is my favorite character, and I would be happy if the whole show were about him. And Bakura. 

**Dark Sephy**- Got a fanart website you can recommend?

**Smiley-chan**- No, you are definitely not overanalyzing things, that's an excellent question, one that I asked myself several months ago when I first got the idea. I figure that what's needed to turn full youkai is a) the will to fight b) immediate danger of death and c) the lack of a preventative element. In the series up until now, there were not that many situations where Ryou was in actual danger of death. Most of the time, Bakura was in control, and he usually had several contingency plans and whatnot so he wasn't in actual danger of dying from a direct attack. Ryou does not seem to have much will to fight at all, so any times when _he_ was in danger wouldn't count so much. The only time I think they were really in danger of dying was during the battle with Yami Malik on Battle Ship, which brings us to the main prerequisite for turning youkai: demon blood. The way I'm working with the ideas is this. In any demon/human hybrid, the demon side is dominant over the human side, which is what allows hanyous like Inuyasha to be powerful enough to fight full-blooded youkai. Since Inuyasha is a half-demon, he has plenty of raw power, and his demon blood has no problem overpowering his human side to make him have many of the abilities and characteristics of demons. With quarter youkai such as Ryou and Ryu, the situation is different. Since there is so much more human blood for the demon blood to overcome, it takes a lot more training to bring them to the level where they could battle powerful youkai and realize their potential completely. The abilities in them are not so inherent. That means that in order for them to be able to use their youkai abilities at all, the abilities have to be woken in them first, and they have to be aware of them. Up until now, Ryou had no knowledge of his demonhood, which also caused it in a sense _not to be present_. In addition, since Ryou was not a quarter youkai because of hanyou and human parents but because of a combination of reincarnation, heredity, and association, the youkai abilities had to be awakened before he started functioning as a quarter youkai. That's why he didn't turn human either up until now. I hope this makes sense ^_^U. 

**Chapter 12 (couldn't think of an original name)**

Yugi flopped onto his bed, his yami's ethereal form sitting next to him. The incident with Ryou had disturbed him more than he had said. It wasn't like it was Ryou's fault or anything, but he couldn't help feeling slightly scared of the white-haired boy, and he hadn't even seen what he had done! How must Joey and Mai be feeling, he wondered. 

"You're worried about your friend."

"I'm worried about everyone," he answered. "I don't know what's going to happen. On one hand, I'm happy that this has nothing to do with Duel Monsters, so we don't have the sole responsibility of saving the world. On the other hand, if this _did_ have to do with the game, at least I'd know what to do!" 

His yami looked at him gravely. "I know how you feel. Nothing is clear-cut anymore. In duels, it is always simple: you against the opponent, and you know you must win, or fail having done your best. Black or white. But now, everything is in shades of gray. If it is only a demon's nature to kill, and they are incapable of doing otherwise, are they evil? Or is it just how they are, without being evil or good? Either way we must protect ourselves. Your friend, who holds such a killing instinct in his heart, does that make him evil by nature?"

Yugi sighed. "You know, I hardly even think about Duel Monsters anymore. It used to be the center of my existence, almost, but now…it's like I don't have time for it! Like there are more important things to worry about! I wish…" leaving the sentence unfinished, he looked at the box on his desk that still held the three God Cards. "We haven't even gotten your full memory back yet."

His yami gave him a smile. "You know what we decided. It can wait."

Malik walked into his house, debating whether to slam the door or not. After sober consideration, he shoved it hard, resulting in a very satisfying bang. As he entered the living room, he was surprised to be greeted by someone he hadn't seen for a while. 

"Rishid!" he cried happily. 

The older man got up from his book with a smile, hugging his younger brother. "I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner."

"It's okay," Malik said. 

Rishid studied his brother carefully. He didn't seem much worse for all he had gone through, but that didn't mean anything. "What's bothering you?" he finally asked. 

Malik sighed ruefully. "You always know, don't you." He launched into the story of Ryou's demon transformation and its aftermath, the reason for his anger returning. "It's not fair!" he burst out. "Why do they accept Ryou so easily? Why am I always different? Ryou nearly died, so he turned into a psychotic killer. Now he's feeling all sorry, and they accept it, just like that! 'It's not your fault'!"

Rishid wrapped an arm around Malik. "That's what we've been trying to tell you for a while."

"Some people don't agree with you."

"Didn't I tell you to give up on universal popularity?" Rishid said lightly. "Don't you ever listen you your older brother?"

"It's still not fair," Malik mumbled, but now he had a half smile on his face. Maybe, just maybe, the past would stop haunting him someday. "Thanks, Rishid," he whispered, then got up, the half smile still on his face. "I got to go practice my sax now. I've improved a lot since you were here last."

"That's good, last time I heard you, you nearly shattered the windows."

"Hey!"

Rishid watched as the blond haired boy ran up the stairs. He wondered if Malik noticed how much he had changed since the end of Battle City. After his darker half had been banished, he and Isis had hoped that Malik would return to his former cheerful self. They were immediately disappointed as Malik became moody, depressive, and prone to drastic mood swings. After about two weeks, there was a change in his behavior: he became listless, and constantly complained that he was tired. No doctors had found anything wrong with him, but the situation had worsened until he was finding it hard to wake up in the mornings. Then he was finding it hard to muster enough energy to keep breathing. Isis had speculated that the removal of his other half had had something to do with it. It was ironic; Malik couldn't live with his darker half, but he didn't seem able to live without him, either. But Malik had proved to be strong willed, enough to pull through. After several months, he regained his energy, and though he still suffered from mood swings, things were definitely looking up. Rishid smiled as the clear sounds of the saxophone could be heard from upstairs. It was good to have his brother back. 

Ryou and the others had spent a while reviewing what they knew about the situation. Apparently, grave danger could cause a part-demon person to go berserk, and Ryou was no exception. His yami had spent a good while cursing out the kitsune demon for not being more informative on the topic. From the fox's words, they had drawn several conclusions: that his very existence proved that youkai had been around for a while, and that demons of the more powerful sort still existed. The idea that there had been demons living among humans for centuries was rather frightening. What bothered Ryou most was that there didn't seem to be any concrete way to prevent him from going berserk. It must not be a very common occurrence, as it hadn't ever happened to him before, but it sounded like it would be getting easier each time. His yami had cheerfully informed him that that meant he would have to train harder; if he wasn't in life-threatening situations, he wouldn't transform, right? 

Now Ryou was lying in bed, staring at the clock, which showed 1:00 AM. It was ticking incredibly loudly, and was threatening to drive him up the wall soon. The urge to throw it across the room was almost overwhelming, but he didn't want to vent on the clock. Abruptly a hand entered his field of vision, snatched up the clock, and threw it across the room, where it shattered against the wall. 

"Happy now?" his yami asked. 

"Yami!" he said reproachfully. 

Yami Bakura sat down on the bed next to his hikari, who scooted over to make room. They sat in silence for several minutes, until Ryou spoke again. 

"I wish things could go back to the way they were before. Even Battle City wasn't like this!" he sighed. "I never thought I'd say this, but I want to go back to just worrying about being bullied, the occasional nut trying to take over the world. I want to go back to just playing Duel Monsters."

His yami reached out a hand, and ruffled his hikari's hair in a rare display of affection. "I dunno, don't you think things are much more exciting now?"

"You _would_ say that, wouldn't you."

"Don't worry, things will work out. I am the indestructible Tomb Robber after all."

Several minutes passed in silence. 

"Yami," Ryou said slowly, "what would you choose?" He wasn't sure he really wanted to know the answer, but he had to ask. 

His yami stretched nonchalantly. "Heh, funny question. I'd stay a youkai of course, idiot!"

Ryou stared at his yami, his mouth dropping open. His yami shifted. 

"What?"

Ryou didn't answer, just continued staring at his yami, a slightly hurt look on his face. 

"Stop looking at me like that! Fine, that's what I would have said a while ago. Now…I'd probably make the same choice you made. Happy now?" he turned his back on Ryou muttering about stupid hikaris, and faded out of sight. Ryou smiled slightly. His yami hadn't done that in ages. Once, he would have found it rather frightening, but now he only thought of it as, well…rather cute. 

~Good night, yami~ he whispered. 

They had gathered for a council of war. Sango was wearing her Demon-Exterminator garb once again, the huge boomerang strapped to her back. Miroku was carrying more than usual ofuda*, and Inuyasha and Kagome both had their weapons close at hand. They were sitting inside a hut at the new Taijiya village, tense and alert. It raised a feeling of nostalgia, as they remembered all the times they had been in similar situations during their Shard-hunting days. On the other hand, in those days they had not had to send the children off on various pretexts while they discussed things. The current topic of conversation: How had the Shikon no Tama become active again?

After a period of arguing, Miroku finally spoke for the first time. 

"I believe I may know how this happened," he said gravely. The others turned to him in annoyance. 

"Why didn't you say so earlier?!" they shouted in concert. 

Miroku continued as if they hadn't spoken. "I believe it has to do with a certain property of the soul. As you know, the Shikon no Tama contains the soul of Midoriko, and the spirits of many youkai. Its power is derived from the battle between them, and from the power of their souls. We believed that by using up the power of the jewel, we could completely deactivate it, but this theory explains why that isn't possible."

"Just get on with it!" Inuyasha growled. 

"I have heard that souls, and human souls especially, have the ability to regenerate parts they have lost. Not many people believed in that, mainly because it seemed impossible to prove. But from the experiences we've had, I believe it to be true. Remember that Kikyou was raised from the dead using Kagome's soul, yet later Kagome woke up? It cannot be that a person has useless components in their soul, and it would be impossible for Kagome to exist with only _part_ of a soul, therefore she must have grown back the parts that were taken from her. It seems that youkai souls don't have the ability to the same extent, though. If so, it means that no matter how many times we use up the power of the Shikon no Tama, it will always reactivate, as the soul inside restores itself. It will be impossible to destroy the Shikon no Tama until Midoriko's soul is removed from it."

Ryou was dreaming. He was running through a forest, and felt a feeling of familiarity, as if it had happened before. Behind him, he could hear the howls of demon-wolves, the same ones that had been chasing him for the past week. The howls were coming closer now, and he knew they would catch up to him, because they already had. He ran into a clearing, just as the first of the slavering red-eyed beasts burst through the trees. He managed to dodge the first attack, but the second demon got him, its claws dragging lines of fire down his chest. He counterattacked quickly, slashing it to bits, his breath hissing through his teeth at the pain in his chest; the claws must carry some sort of poison. There was another quick scuffle, and this time he felt teeth score on his face. With a supreme effort, he threw the demon off his chest, rolling to the side quickly before the others leapt on him, rising to his feet to meet the inevitable attack. He took a step back to brace himself. Panic shot through him for the first time in weeks, as he felt the ground crumble beneath his feet. He flailed his arms, trying frantically to catch hold of something as he tumbled down the steep precipice that, he could now see, led straight down to a raging river. His body tumbled helplessly down, sometimes hitting the rocky bluff, until his head smashed against a rock and he knew no more. 

*Ofuda are the paper thingys Miroku uses to fight youkai. I don't know how to describe them better. 

A/N: Sorry if this chapter was a little weird, I haven't been able to catch hold of my proofreader for awhile now. I'm in the middle of the Pharaoh's memory shtick, and it's…weird. I dunno what I expected, but it wasn't that. I think that the stereotypical 'saw family get killed when was young, became a psychopath intent on gaining ultimate power and world domination' is wasted on a character as cool as Bakura. And they make the Pharaoh's out as this wonderful, honorable, compassionate blah blah…perfect, people. I mean, let's just saint the guy and be done! Those pharaohs were _not_ that nice! And the bad guy, what's his name again? Sok? Zok? Zork? –Necro-SomethingOrOther? He looks like a _digimon_ or something, and I totally cracked up when I heard his name. It's true that there was bound to be a let-down after the whole Battle City thing, (which I think is the best part of the series), but I really feel that it could be avoided. It also bothers me that there isn't enough character development. Bakura hardly gets _any_. Anzu, Honda, Otogi, and the rest are ignored quite a bit. Fine, Yami gets a truckload, but face it, he's not the most interesting character! So yeah…

I'm nearly finished watching Weiss Kreuz Gluhen. Good Lord, what have they done to the character designs? Poor Shuldich…and poor Crawford. Weiss Kreuz is a nice series btw, if a little depressing. They have this thing against the chars being happy. 


	13. Wish

School is a lot of 'fun'. We have a test in physics next week, so it will probably take me a little longer to get the next chapter out. The plot _is_ still moving though, and I promise more action in the next chapters! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. 

**Dark-Sephy**: Ok, now all I need is some free time…-_-

**Quatre Winner**: You can get all the eps of WK Gluhen in Bittorrent from the Xenon Fansub website. If you don't have bittorrent, get it, it's really useful (just do a google search). Nagi is fine, he just looks like Trowa, but did you see Shuldich? And Farfie? They _totally_ ruined them…

**Reiko5:** You noticed! Actually, I have plenty more planned for Malik.

**Manga-nut:** Look at the bright side, where you live manga does come out. Where I live, it's pretty much impossible to get any, and if there is any, it's at exorbitant prices. *****sigh*****

**Kikoru: **Thanks for your review! You're usually the first one to review a new chapter ^_^

**Shadow Dragonia**: Thanks for the review! I'll tell you what happens next I get to tortu-I mean, develop plot, yeah, plot…

Wish

Yami Bakura sat in his favorite tree in the park, remembering. He was starting to remember more now, and not only in dreams. It was strange that while his memories of ancient Japan were returning rapidly, the memories of ancient Egypt were still as vague as they had been for years. He remembered…

He was sparring with his father in a large field, panting slightly from the effort. After the fight was over, they turned to leave together, his father happily complimenting him on his improvement. Abruptly, another presence could be felt on the field. He turned to see another figure standing near them. He was tall, with long white hair that reached past his knees, wearing spiked armor and carrying two swords. The marks on his face showed him to be a full dog demon. 

"Inuyasha," he said, a slight sneer evident in his voice. 

"Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha answered neutrally. He turned to his son. "Ryu, this is your uncle, Sesshoumaru."

Ryu, of course had heard his father talk of his uncle, usually to curse him rather descriptively. He watched the youkai in annoyance, not caring much for the expression on his face. 

"So this is your offspring, Inuyasha? A quarter youkai, how pathetic," was Sesshoumaru's only comment. Ryu added dislike to his previous annoyance. 

"Of course, the fact that by an accident of birth you happen to be a full youkai makes you so much better," he retorted sarcastically, his uncle's glare doing nothing to faze him. 

"Your power is a bare fraction of my own, your human blood a taint in your body."

"I'm proud of what I am. Your blood doesn't make you who you are. I'm just as good as you are, and my dad's better! Maybe you'd actually understand that if you got rid of your attitude problem!" Ryu snapped back immediately. 

Sesshoumaru frowned in anger for a minute, then, surprisingly gave a small smile. "Meet me at the top of that mountain," he pointed, "tomorrow at sunrise. I will begin your training then." The youkai turned, gliding away quickly, leaving Ryu standing speechless. 

A few minutes later, after he had gotten over his surprise, he stared at his father incredulously. "Wh- who does he this he _is_?! Like hell I'm going to go!" 

"Please do." 

"Dad, I don't understand! Why should I?" His uncle thought he was so high-and-mighty, so much better than them, why should he go and study under him?

"Listen," Inuyasha said seriously, "I was never trained properly. All my life I was an outcast, and picked up fighting wherever I could. But I am still a half demon, and half dog-demon at that, so I had enough power to survive. But I will never be the fighter I could have been if I had proper training. You are only a quarter youkai, so you have less raw power. Make it up by being the most skilled. I want you to have what I never did. I want you to be more powerful than me!" 

Ryu had never heard his father talk that way, and just nodded dumbly. 

"But if he hates part-youkai so much, why is he offering to train me at all?"

His father smiled. "The only answer you could ever get from him, is probably that it would be an embarrassment to the dog-youkai clan to have a quarter demon who is also a lousy fighter as part of it."

Tea sat in the lunchroom, contemplating several designs she had acquired. 

"What'cha got there?" 

Joey and Tristan had walked up, and were now staring at the papers in front of her in curiosity. Tea spread them out. They were mostly rectangular, each one bearing symbols in intricate designs. 

"I bought them off an old lady. They're supposed to be wards against demons, but I don't know if they're any good or not." 

"That should be fairly easy to check," Malik, who had joined them meanwhile, commented. "Hey, Ryou!" 

The three watched him, wondering what he was trying to do. Ryou came over. 

"What?"

Malik just grinned, grabbing Ryou's hand and running it over the pieces of paper. 

"I don't- ouch!" Ryou snatched back his hand, which was tingling slightly. It hadn't hurt much, but the shock surprised him. 

"See, there's your answer. All the ones that didn't react to Ryou are obviously pretty much useless."

"You just used Ryou to test the wards?!" Joey exclaimed. 

"Don't you think it makes sense?" Malik grinned unrepentantly. "Since he's a part youkai…" Malik dodged the blow that Yami Bakura tried to land on his head, still grinning, then decided to make a quick exit, with Bakura hot on his heels. 

"You know," Tristan said, "I think that guy is actually getting a kick out of this whole situation."

"Well, I am definitely _not_." Tea answered. 

Ms. Matano was fighting tooth and nail to prevent the cancellation of the planned trip. Against the protestations that it was too dangerous, she countered that it was probably safer outside the city anyway, and that learning about demons and what they could do was especially important now. She finally got the authorities to concede to her points, and the date was set, in one week. The trip was going to be four days long, and would visit a bunch of major and minor shrines in the center of Japan. The route planned started around Osaka, which was near Domino City, and reached Tokyo. The day before the trip the class was in a frenzy, stocking up on candy and wondering how many changes of clothes they should take, and if they should bring an iron, or a microwave, or shoe polish. At least, the girls were. Everybody had to come to school earlier on the day they were leaving, Monday, so they could get a head start. There was a lot to see. 

Monday morning dawned bright and warm, and the students gathered excitedly near the school gates, from which they would be leaving for the train station. Everyone was carrying duffels, many of them the size of the bag you would take to an eight-month trip to Venus, and talking excitedly about the upcoming trip. Ms Matano finally arrived, and the class got on a bus that would be taking them to the train station. It was decided that, in the interests of time, their main mode of transportation would be the Shinkansen, or bullet train, as it was much faster than a bus. 

Joey nudged Yugi again. 

"Not now!" Yugi hissed for the third time. 

"But Yugi," Joey protested, "You have to see this!" he tapped the window of the bus again. 

"Ms. Matano is explaining something important," Yugi whispered back urgently. 

"But-" Joey began again, then gave a small squeak as Ms. Matano glared at him. 

"Joey, I asked the class to please _ignore_ the possessed pizza tables hopping down the street!"

Kagome and Sango sat, staying indoors despite the lovely afternoon. They were both leaning against the wooden walls of the house, rolling a small pink ball back and forth on the floor between them. 

"You take it," Kagome rolled the Shikon no Tama towards Sango. 

"What would I do with it?" Sango giggled slightly, rolling it back. 

"Well, what am _I_ supposed to do with it?" Kagome retorted, starting to laugh as well. After all the fights and horrors, things had finally quieted down. They were in a wonderful mood; it was a beautiful day, and there was no Naraku and Co. to bother them. The peace made them all giddy with optimism. If they could defeat Naraku, they could do anything. 

"How ironic," Sango chortled, "that after everything we've gone through to get this miserable piece of jewelry, we don't have a clue what to do with it."

Kagome started fiddling with the jewel again, rolling it in circles. "It's supposed to grant wishes, but it can't do _everything_. Miroku doesn't have his curse anymore, so he doesn't need it, Kohaku is fine and so is Kagura-"

"So the only ones left are you and Inuyasha!" Sango said. "What did you decide on doing? You're going to get married, right?"

Kagome sighed. "We…want to, but we don't know how it's possible. Inuyasha can't possibly come live in my time, he would never fit in properly. He is a hanyou after all. And he says it would hurt him if I stayed here with him, because he doesn't want to watch my 'pathetic human body' grow old. Hanyous have a lifespan nearly as long as full demons, you know."

"Don't worry," Sango said, "I'm sure we'll think of something." She thought for a minute. "It looks like the best option is to lengthen your life. Couldn't the Shikon no Tama do that?"

"I never thought of that! I guess it could, now that you mention it…but, I don't want to be immortal." Kagome mused.

Sango grinned at her. "So just ask to have the lifespan of a hanyou. That should solve the problem, right?"

"Sango, you're a genius!" Kagome cried. Now she and Inuyasha could live together! 

The decision to stay in the Feudal era had been a hard one. For Kagome, leaving behind the comforts and conveniences of modern life was almost impossible. The problem was, her time was so…well, boring. She wasn't sure if she could ever get used to normal everyday life there. And whenever she traveled back and forth a lot, demons would mysteriously crop up in her time, causing trouble for all concerned. She definitely didn't want her family hurt by some rampaging youkai! So, she decided to stop going back. If the well wasn't used constantly, youkai wouldn't get through, or however it was they got to her time. And it would also eliminate the constant temptation to stay in her time a little longer, or bring modern conveniences back. She was living in history after all, and there was always the danger inadvertently causing damage to the time stream by introducing alien technology or something like that. Kagome really didn't want to find out what would happen if history got changed. The thought always brought words like 'time loop' and 'paradox' to her mind, and usually ended up giving her a headache. 

Miroku had all sorts of theories about the well, but she would usually beg him to stop when he started waxing eloquent about how the time streams would probably lose their synchronization now that Kagome was no longer traveling constantly between the time periods, and stuff like that. Kagome may be an expert miko, but she was no physicist. 

Now, as Kagome sat in the principal's office, listening with half an ear to what he was saying, she wished she had paid more attention to what Miroku had theorized. At the very least, it wasn't as boring as listening to her new principal, who, amusingly enough, was about twenty years younger than her. She fidgeted, wishing he would finish already, so she would be free to investigate the school. She was sure she felt the presence of Shikon shards that had been here recently. More worryingly, the shards were masked by some kind of foreign power; they were practically drenched in it. And they were very, very corrupted. 

Okay, I don't know what your schools are like, but mine is positively nuts. At the end of this year we have a test in math (not a final) on Geometry, Trigonometry, Series, Inductions, Trigonometric Function, Inequalities, Calculus, and a bunch of other topics. Yick. 

I started watching the live action version of Sailor Moon. Isn't that weird? It's really strange seeing all these anime chars in a live action series. Especially since no Japanese has naturally blonde hair. 

I'm sorry to say, my proofreader is still inaccessible, so if there are any mistakes or anything (and I mean anything) at all bothers you, don't hesitate to tell me. 


	14. Field Trip

Again, thanks to all my reviewers! You all are wonderful!

**Notice:** The situation I am describing in this field trip is not faithful to Japanese culture. I know that there are no youth hostels in Japan. I decided to use this system because it's a system that most people aren't familiar with, and because it's cuter and more interesting this way. Live with it. (I think a youth hostel is the equivalent of a 1 star hotel, sometimes 2).

Field Trip 

Sango walked up to the field of destruction, horrified. Of the village, only piles of rubble and burning buildings were left. The stench of death hung in the air, and the bodies of the villagers could be seen strewn about. Sango stared at the scene in shock. How could something like this be happening? Kagome was the strongest miko of this time period; it was inconceivable that she would allow something like this to happen! And what of Inuyasha, and Ryu? The two of them were also a power to be reckoned with. Naraku! It must be him. A chill passed over Sango, as she realized that he could still be in the area, and she wished that she had insisted on bringing Miroku and Hiromi, their eldest daughter, here as well. 

Something bothered her about the scene. After a few minutes of consideration, she finally got it. _There is no sign of a battle here, _she understood, _just carnage. Inuyasha would never give up without a fight! The only question is, where could it have happened? _On instinct, Sango began running towards the ancient well and God-Tree. She arrived to another scene of destruction. The God-Tree was fine, still standing tiredly against the skyline. It seemed nothing could destroy the Goshinboku. Not so for the Bone Eater's Well. Sango stifled a sob as she saw the crater where the well had been, random puddles of blood scattered around and in it. Even if Kagome had escaped, it was no use. There would be no more travel between the time periods. Sango started running, following the path of destruction, trying to find the scene of battle. She called Kirara, and together they flew along, passing craters, broken trees, and scorch marks. There was no sign of life along the way. Finally, she could no longer tell which way the battle had come (or gone). Kirara landed, and Sango leapt off, trying to understand what had happened. Her eyes fell on another figure, surveying the scene of destruction. 

"Sesshoumaru!" she called out, her worry over her friends overriding her normal caution around Inuyasha's brother, "did you see what happened? Where is Inuyasha? What happened to Kagome and Ryu?"

Sesshoumaru turned his cold stare to the human woman. Not that he would ever share his views, but the woman impressed him. She was smart and resourceful, for a human. He answered, because he respected her, and because the situation bothered him. Naraku had messed with his brother for the last time. "I was not here. The miko vanished in the area of the well. The hanyou and his son are not here." 

Translation: Sesshoumaru _didn't know_ what happened to them. And he was not pleased at all. A frown made its way onto his face. It seemed that Naraku had managed to be rid of both his pathetic brother, and his student. How dare he! Trespassing on the honor of the Dog Youkai clan would be punished. The youkai had overstepped himself for the last time, and now he would pay. This he, Sesshoumaru, swore. 

Sango watched the minute play of emotions on the demon's face, and understood that, in his own way, Sesshoumaru felt the loss of his half-brother. She felt closer to the youkai than she had ever thought herself capable of. 

"We're coming with you," she said. "We want our own revenge on Naraku." She and Miroku were no longer young, but their considerable skill and experience made them quite powerful. Had she stated any other reason, Sesshoumaru would probably have refused. As it was, he gave a small nod. It was fitting.

After a short train ride, they arrived in Osaka. Here, too, the effects of demons running around could be clearly seen; Domino City wasn't the only place under attack. 

"Now," Ms. Matano announced cheerfully, "our first stop is the Sukunahikona Shrine. Make sure you all stay together, this is not the time to be wandering off alone!" The Sukunahikona Shrine was dedicated to the guardian of pharmaceutical industry. It was founded in the time of the eighth Shogun, in order to help guarantee the safety of medicines. There was an immediate change once they entered the shrine grounds. It abruptly became more peaceful, and there was a noticeable lack of random demons wandering around. Apparently, the old shrines still held some of their old power, despite the many years that had passed since youkai were a problem. 

"You know," Tea commented, "I wonder if all the weird stuff going on has gotten to the media. Do you think the rest of the world knows that we're being overrun by demons?" 

"It's probably more a question of what they believe," Yugi answered. "You have to admit that this is all pretty weird…"

"The world probably just thinks all of Japan has gone loco." Joey said cheerfully.

"What? You mean demons have spread all over the country already?" Tea was startled. 

"Not yet," Ryou responded. "I heard on the news that the farthest west of here that they've reached is Hiroshima, but to the north they've already reached Hokkaido."

"Wow, they _have_ been spreading quickly…" 

"Ahh, but the real question is whether this will become a worldwide problem," Malik inserted into the conversation. "I wonder how much of an impediment the Korea and La Perouse Straits will be?"

"You don't have to look _quite_ so happy at the thought," Tristan said dryly. 

"Well," Ryou intervened, "_I_ wonder why this has been happening at all."

After that they visited the Sumiyoshi Grand Shinto Shrine, the host shrine for all Sumiyoshi shrines in the country. According to legend, on the way back to Japan after conquering Korea, Empress Jingu's boat suddenly refused to move forward. An oracle was received from three gods of Sumiyoshi: "Let our Yamato spirits stay in Nagao in Nunakura in Otsu. Then the lost boat will be protected." When the three gods were enshrined in Nagao in Nunakura, the boat started to move forward and safely returned to Japan. Next came the Hokoku Shrine, which was right near a park where they finally stopped for lunch. After lunch, they continued their journey, to the Ikutama Shrine, Taiyuji Temple, Joshoji Temple….

Finally, the first grueling day was over. The class sat tiredly on the train to Kyoto, where they would be spending the night. The ride was less than 45 minutes long, but after the long day of traipsing around Osaka, the students were waiting to finally reach where they were staying, so they could relax. The walk from the train station to the Youth Hostel they were staying at was (thankfully) pretty short. 

"At least we don't have to carry our duffels around," Tristan commented. The duffels had all been brought ahead of time.

"I don't think I could have carried it at this point anyway," Tea moaned. 

"That's just 'cause you insisted on taking the whole house and then some," Joey laughed, "Really, girls don't know how to pack."

Once inside the hostel building, the students had their room keys distributed. Rooms had been set before the trip, with four students per room, boys and girls separated. 

Ryou walked back to the group with their room key. "So Joey, Malik and I are in room 106, along with Yuko Shioya." 

"Me and Yugi are in a room with Ninomiya and Kotoku." Tristan said. "I say we switch: have Shioya be in our room, and we'll drag a mattress to yours. I don't mind sleeping on the floor."

Tea sighed. It would probably be a lot more fun in the boys room, but she wasn't about to spend the night with them! 

There was a scramble for the duffels, and the students all went to their respective rooms, with big plans for the night. 

Ryou unlocked the door to the Western-style accommodations, revealing a smallish room with bunkbeds, desks, and a bathroom and shower. 

"They sure went overboard on fanciness with _this_ one," Joey commented snidely. The room was rather bare, but clean. Ryou looked out the window, and promptly went to close the curtains. "There." He said with satisfaction. "It's really not that bad, I mean we even have a TV!" he dropped his duffel on the bottom bunk of the nearest bed. Joey claimed the other bottom, leaving the two top bunks for Malik and Shioya. Malik entered the room at that point, pouting slightly when he saw that the bottom bunks had been claimed, and claimed the bunk above Bakura. 

"Listen up," he commanded, waving a piece of paper at them, "we got to fill this in, and I'm not doing it by myself!"

"What is it?" Shioya asked. 

"We need to check if the room is in good condition, and write down any damages. Stupid waste of time if you ask me, but if we don't we get billed 1200 yen for any damages discovered later. Now…Curtains?"

"Look fine to me."

"Lights?" they spent several minutes turning lights on and off, finally coming to the conclusion that they all worked. "Sheesh, why do they have so many lights? Television?" 

"Works."

"Sinks?"

"There's only one." Yami Bakura snickered. 

Malik looked up. "What?"

"You heard me, it says 'sinks' and there's only one, in the bathroom. Write that down."

Shioya stared at them. "You can't write that!"

Malik finished scribbling on the paper, a grin on his face. "Why not? If they're wasting our time with this, let's waste theirs back!"

They continued through the checklist, writing down that the chairs were unsteady and uncomfortable, there was a burn mark on the table, there was only one trash can, one of the mattresses was lumpy, they didn't know what 'shower nets' were, and that there was a stain on the wall. Yami Bakura wanted to circle it in red marker and write 'what's this?' next to it, but they convinced him not to. The only one who possibly wasn't enjoying himself was Shioya. They didn't really know him well, and while he was far from being timid, the general insanity generated by the other three was enough to scare him. 

There was a banging on the door, which opened to reveal Tristan. "How're you guys doing?" he asked. "Did you do that checklist thingy? Isn't it weird?" he broke off, staring at their room. "Why's your window shut? It's-" he whipped the curtain aside, to reveal a greenish creature with the consistency of a chewed gum slobbering on the other side of the window. He shut the curtain quickly. "Okay, I guess that's why," he glared at the other three, who were grinning at him. "We're transferring a mattress into here, ok?"

A few minutes later, when they came with the mattress, they had to dodge flying pillows and bedding, courtesy of Bakura and Malik's Pillow War. 

Yugi watched as Tristan and Joey joined in, and hoped the inn would still be standing after that night. 

A few minutes later, Bakura snickered from where he had pinned Malik to the floor. "That all you got?" 

"Not fair," Malik grunted, "you're a youkai!" 

"Well, that's-" Bakura was cut off abruptly as both Joey and Tristan attacked him, pummeling him mercilessly with their pillows. The 'war' was stopped abruptly by a loud banging on the door by what seemed to be the entire class. 

"Can't you guys be a little quieter?! What are you doing there anyway?"

"Um," Yugi answered from the door, wondering what to say. The people outside must have caught a glimpse of the mess in what used to be a room, with a suspicious pile of people in the middle. Apparently, that was enough to convince them of Room 106's craziness, and they left with warnings of dire consequences if they weren't quieter, it was midnight already!

"Funny," Yami Bakura said, "Like they'd really be sleeping now anyway." 

~Come on, you guys were really being noisy. We do have to be up at 6:00 tomorrow you know! I really think we should start moving towards bed.~

BANG! BANG! BANG-BANG! "Wakey Wakeeeeey!!!" Ms. Matano's cheerful voice came from the other side of the door. There was no reaction from the occupants of the room. She began banging on the door again. "Come on! Rise and Shine! I'm not leaving until you are up, so you might as well get on with it!" 

Several groans came from the boys in the room. Ryou finally stumbled to the door and opened it, revealing a disgustingly awake teacher at the ungodly hour of 6:30 AM. 

"We're up…" he mumbled. 

"Breakfast's in half an hour," she answered. Ryou nodded dully, and shuffled back into the room, left with the thankless job of waking up the others. He poked Malik several times, getting a pillow in the face for his troubles, while his yami cracked up inside his soul room. The reactions he got from the others were no better. 

"Come on, if you guys don't get up there won't be any places for you at breakfast! You can't be _that_ tired!" 

Groans and mumbles were his only answer. "There won't be any food left, get up already…" Ryou said tiredly. Joey sat up rubbing his eyes at that. 

"Go save us a place in the dining room," he said, "we'll be along, eventually…"

Ryou shrugged, and left the room. As the door clicked shut, the sleepy occupants could hear Ryou's voice again. 

"There's a bug on your door!" he called. "A red and black bug."

"A ladybug…?" Yugi muttered.

After breakfast, all the students returned to their rooms to collect their suitcases. They quickly packed up their stuff, and stripped the beds and tied the sheets in a bundle to be left outside the door, Joey grumbling about stupid cheap hostels. 

* * * * 

It was spreading, like ripples in a pond when a stone is thrown in. Or maybe not a pond. An avalanche. If someone had been aware enough, if someone had understood what was happening in time, it could have been stopped. It would be hard, but possible. But as each day passed, the demons spread, awakening more demons on the way, which in turn awakened more demons. It would take time, of course, for them to dominate mankind once again. But they were confident they could do it. Mankind, on the other hand, had changed. They would fight for their world. And they were no longer at a disadvantage against the more physically powerful demons. Either way, the world would definitely be a more interesting place….

Why was it happening? It could be a natural phenomenon. After all, demons had been prevalent in the past; who was to say that they wouldn't gain power again sometime? But in this case, they had help. The corrupted Shikon shards the three Millennium Items bore had awakened, and were awakening youkai as they moved. The higher-level demons, who had been living among humans for centuries, knew the danger, but were slow to react. It had been so many years since there was a crisis like this in the world. There is no doubt that the Shards acted as a catalyst. We could probably blame this whole mess on Naraku, who is usually to blame anyway, and was the cause of the Lost Shards being lost. We could blame Midoriko, for creating the problem of the Shikon no Tama in the first place. Or we could stick to tradition and just blame the Pharaoh. 


	15. Sword

Thanks again to all my reviewers! I don't have much time to talk, I have a huuuuge math test on Sunday. Enjoy. 

Sword 

Kyoto, the spiritual center of Japan, whose very streets reeked of history, where the air hinted of things that happened and things yet to come. Despite the many things to see in this city, the class was nevertheless sticking to the city-per-day schedule. Ms. Matano said she was sorry that they were breezing through so quickly, but there was no way they would be able to see _everything_ anyway, so they might as well make the best of what there was. They visited the Chionin and Eifukuji Temples, both of which were over 1000 years old. Yami Bakura grumbled that this was hardly history; _he_ was older than those temples. 

The problem with visiting so many shrines and temples in such a short period of time was that even though this was only the second day, the differences between them were already blurring. Yugi started keeping a record of where they had been, just so he would remember later. The only one who stayed consistently interested in the stories behind each shrine and the differences between them was Malik. When Ryou complained about his enthusiasm, he retorted that to them this all might be familiar stuff, but that he hadn't been living in Japan all that long! The only religious stuff he was familiar with was ancient Egyptian, and what they were seeing now was _very_ different. 

The next day found them in Nagoya, plodding morosely through the rain. Of course, the one day where they were going out-of-city to see some shrines would be the one day when it rained cats and dogs. 

"Look at the bright side," Joey grumbled, "the weather is keeping all the youkai in. It's only us humans who are stupid enough to be out in it." 

After the showers in the morning, the day cleared up, the sun shining brightly as if in apology for the earlier weather. The general mood among the students improved, as the day looked to stay clear and warm. They had reached their stop, a shrine dedicated to ancient kamis (spirits/gods) of the forest. Ms. Matano had chosen the shrine specifically because of Yugi and his friends' recent interest in youkai. The shrine's claim to fame was an ancient sword embedded in rock, said to have belonged to a great dog youkai. At first glance, the shrine was like most others; It consisted of several buildings, and had it's own sacred trees, various mini-shrines, and wards all over. A pale, dark haired girl in the traditional miko garb greeted them at the entrance, to show them around.

Ryou couldn't put his finger on it, but something was strange about this place, and it was putting him on edge. 

~I know,~ his yami commented, ~I feel it too. And its not just us- Malik is fidgety as well. He makes a good 'weather' gauge!~ he laughed. Ryou sighed. 

The miko finally led them into the main building. It was rather plain inside, but had a sort of quiet dignity. Everyone's eyes were immediately drawn to an old sword embedded in a flattish boulder near the far wall, a ray of light from the high windows falling directly onto it. 

~Toukijin!~ Yami Bakura gasped. 

~What?~

~Toukijin, it was one of the swords of my uncle, who was also my teacher. I have _no_ idea what it's doing here!~ 

"This is rumored to be one of the greatest demon swords ever created," the miko said. "It was said to have belonged to Sesshoumaru, a very powerful dog youkai. He left it here for "the son of the pathetic hanyou". From what we know, he had a brother who was a hanyou, but that brother has no known children."

Yami Bakura was speechless. Toukijin? For him? But Sesshoumaru had never seemed remotely fond of him, why had he left him the sword? Excitement gripped him. Toukijin was an incredibly powerful weapon, a truly wonderful sword. And it was his! Ryou could sense his yami's incredible excitement over the sword, but felt a twinge of sadness at being left out of it. On the other hand, Yami Bakura was rather annoyed. Why didn't they remember him? He wasn't _that_ unimportant!

Meanwhile, the other students were staring at the sword skeptically.

"So nobody except the 'son of the hanyou' can pull out the sword? It doesn't seem too hard to me," one said. 

The miko smiled quietly. "You are welcome to try. Many others have made the attempt before you, but all have failed."

One of the jocks stepped forward and attempted to draw the sword, tugging and panting, the muscles along his arms bulging, but failed miserably. Over half the students tried as well (mostly the boys), but met with the same results. 

Bakura was fidgeting with impatience; why wouldn't they leave already! Finally, Ms. Matano led the class out, while Bakura backed away silently to remain in the room unnoticed. If the teacher noticed he stayed behind, or that Yugi and Malik lagged just outside the door to see what would happen, she gave no sign. 

Finally! Bakura started towards the stone, only to stop short when another figure appeared from the shadows. It was an obviously demon woman. She had long white hair that fell gently around her pleasant, if stern, face and cascaded down her back. Her eyes were wide and bright, a light yellow with slit pupils, and she had an upside down crescent moon with a dot in the middle on her forehead, and two triangles on her cheeks. Her clothes were more everyday-ish, a plain dark green shirt and loose black pants. 

"It has been a while since someone tried for Sesshoumaru's sword," she said, "and I'm not talking about the humans who try incessantly with no knowledge of what the sword is." She stepped forward, to stand by the stone. "Who are you? Why do you think yourself worthy of possessing this sword? Consider your answers carefully, or I will punish you," she laid a hand on the sword that hung from her hip. 

Bakura stared at her for a minute. Obviously, she was descended from Sesshoumaru; she even had the annoying personality. "First of all, you couldn't possibly hurt me with Tenseiga; any idiot knows it couldn't cut anything. As to who I am, that's really none of your business, and I'm not asking anybody whether I'm worthy or not to carry _my_ sword, because I don't give a damn. Sesshoumaru left it to _me_." He took a deep breath. " My name is Ryu. I am Inuyasha's son. And you are…?"

Surprisingly, the youkai smiled. "I am Sesshoumaru's granddaughter. My name is Susan." Obviously she wasn't natively Japanese, though her accent was excellent.

Ryu strode to the block, grasped the hilt, and pulled. The sword slid out with no resistance. He stared at the sword in awe. Toukijin! The third most powerful demon sword in existence, and it was all _his_! He stroked the blade gently, marveling at the still razor-sharp edge. Susan watched him for a minute, then decided to retreat, knowing she was no longer needed. The sword had found its owner- whether he would remain its owner was up to him.

~Yami?~ Ryou asked tentatively, ~we really should rejoin the class. How are we going to carry the sword around?~ 

~Um,~ he didn't own anything remotely resembling a sword scabbard, and it didn't look like the shrine had anything helpful lying around. 

There was a soft footstep from behind him. The miko of the shrine stepped forward, holding an old, but well kept, scabbard. "You can use this." She held it out. 

Ryu accepted it thankfully, noting that it wasn't a perfect fit, but it would do for now. "You don't... mind that I'm taking the sword away?" he wondered. 

She smiled. "It is yours. We were only its guardians until the rightful owner came. It was an honor to meet you." She bowed, and vanished into the shadows. Yami Bakura quickly ran out, to be accosted by Yugi and Malik. 

"Well? Show us the sword!" Yugi demanded. Ryu wondered how they had known, but pulled it out carefully. After several minutes of admiring the sword from all directions, the boys began wondering how Ryou was going to carry it. Ryu didn't want to leave it in his backpack, but he obviously couldn't hold it in his hand the whole time. Yugi finally donated one of his belts, and Ryou strapped the sword to his waist. It felt weird, with the unaccustomed weight on his left, and it took concentration to make sure that he didn't get tangled in it while walking. 

When they rejoined the class, it didn't take the student body long to descend on Ryou demanding to know where the sword had come from. Ryou hedged, getting absolutely no help from his yami, Yugi, or Malik. 

"It's an old family heirloom…"

"But how did it get here?"

"_I_ think it looks like the sword from the shrine." 

"You mean that that sword belongs to _Ryou_? No way!" 

"There doesn't seem to be any other option…"

"Oh my _gosh_, Ryou is like, a freak!" 

The whispering behind his back was seriously starting to get on his nerves, and Malik's smirk at his annoyance wasn't helping. More troublesome was _what_ was being whispered; though nobody said it to Ryou's face, he distinctly overheard the word 'youkai' several times, and he noticed that people were avoiding him and glaring at him when they thought he wasn't looking.

The class left the shrine grounds, and had nearly reached the bus when a sudden sense of overwhelming foreboding stopped Ryou in his tracks. He looked around. He was standing at the edge of the forest near the road, slowly dropping behind the rest of the class. Together, he and his yami scanned the trees around them and the road up ahead, trying to find the source of their unease. 

~Duck!~ 

Ryou dodged quickly, a potentially lethal sword strike passing harmlessly over his head, his yami taking over immediately, and turned to face the attacker, who landed lightly across the clearing. The attacker was another dog demon, but his white hair was cropped short, with messy bangs flopping over his face. He wore heavy black boots, black pants, and a white sleeveless shirt, had two small hoop earrings in one ear, and of course the usual yellow eyes and face markings, a semi-triangular one on each cheek. More worrisome was the face that he was in a fighting stance, and had his sword out. 

The youkai seemed rather surprised at the blank look Ryou was giving him, so, helpfully, he clarified. 

"I'm challenging you for the sword!" he snapped. "Draw, so we can get on with it." 

Ryu was slightly worried. He had only just received the sword, and wasn't sure how well he could fight with it, let alone use its special abilities. And his sword skills were a little rusty….

He drew Toukijin, just in time to block another lightning-quick strike from the youkai. On one account, he needn't have worried; the sword had perfect balance, responding to his will wonderfully. He just had to make the right commands. There was no way he was going to lose _his_ sword! 

Ryu parried several strokes, but one had been a feint, which allowed the youkai to score along his arm. The cut stung, but wasn't dangerous, and he could fight with both hands anyway. He blocked another swipe, this time at his stomach, and turned the parry into an attack, leaping forward and stepping on the demon's foot at the same time. The demon lost his balance, nearly falling, but managed to recover by making an awkward leap backwards. He hadn't been expecting that; his opponent was fighting dirty. "That was low," he snarled. 

Ryu grinned at him. "It works, though."

The two fighters stood, tensed to attack, each one waiting for the other's concentration to flag. Neither one noticed the small crowd of spectators gathering at a respectful distance. 

The stalemate was broken as the demon turned his sword quickly, and attacked. One of his flaws was his impatience, driving him to continue the battle. It annoyed him to just _stand_ there. Not that Ryu was much more patient; he was just more worried about the outcome of the battle. 

Ryu blocked the strike, and attacked too, finally drawing blood. The demon didn't even acknowledge the blood running down his leg, but continued his attack. The two swords danced in a complicated pattern, sometimes striking sparks, shards of light flickering from the blades in all directions. Obviously the demon's sword had some special attributes, for no normal sword could hold up against Toukijin for long, even when Toukijin's power wasn't being used. 

Ryu was slightly worried. Despite the fact that the reactions imprinted into his mind by endless repetitions were proving invaluable, he couldn't remember most of the complicated sword maneuvers drilled into him by Sesshoumaru. In a fight like this, instincts weren't enough; the youkai's power gave him an enormous advantage over Ryu, who would wear out rather quickly at this rate. That was why his father had insisted he become so skilled. In a fight like this one, the only thing that could save him was his skill. If he could only remember it. 

A/N: First of all, if anyone is still interested in seeing any of my fanarts, you can go here: community.msn.co.il/comm_display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=5437&TopicID=47554&PagePosition=1&CommID=1868

The first one is a scene from this fic, after Ryou goes berserk. 

I'm really depressed. Yugioh is over! Just like that! I mean, sure, you could tell that the series was winding down for a finish, but still…. I'm not too satisfied with the ending, either. I probably would like it better if I was a bigger fan of Yugi and the Pharaoh's. 


	16. Interruption

**Interruption**

Ryu was tiring. In his prime, he probably would have been able to defeat this youkai, but there was no way he could succeed in his current out-of-practice state, and with the holes in his memory. Because of their proximity to the road and a desire not to make a scene, the two youkai had refrained from using the energy attacks of their swords (and, in Ryu's case, because he couldn't remember any), but even without that, their fight was impressive enough to attract the attention of everybody in the area. 

By now, neither youkai was looking their best. Ryu had several deep gashes along his arms, and he had to rub his hand across his forehead every so often to keep blood from dripping into his face. The other youkai was bleeding no less than Ryu was, but with his demon blood came greater stamina, so he was holding up better. 

The youkai, whose name was Alex, attacked again, finally catching Ryu off guard. Ryu stumbled, and Toukijin was twisted quickly from his hand, to be caught by Alex before it could touch the ground. Alex merged the catch into a swing, and finally managed to bring Ryu to the gound, pinning him with a leg and his free hand, and pointing Toukijin at his throat. 

Ryu's mind froze, along with his body, as he regarded his impending doom. He had tried to harness the Millennium Ring's power once he had predicted the eventual outcome of this duel, but the obnoxious piece of metal chose this time to go on the fritz again, as it was wont to do of late. Several last-ditch plans ran through his mind, but before he could consider acting on any of them, the tableau was broken by a voice:

"Get off of him."

Both demons turned towards the source of the voice, to see Malik standing about three meters away from them, pointing his gun at Alex's hand. 

Alex regarded the human in puzzlement. The human couldn't possibly think that a regular gun could hurt a youkai as powerful as he was! The very idea was ludicrous. But something about the way this person was standing, the cold, authoritative tone, and the narrowed, emotionless eyes, unnerved him. 

"I said, get _off_!" Malik snarled, and pulled the trigger. 

Alex had jumped away, on pure instinct, almost before Malik finished speaking, which was the only thing that saved his hand. Now he was worried. Bullets were _not_ supposed to leave glowing trails in the air, or burn sixteen centimeter deep holes into the ground. Now that gun was pointing right between his eyes, and he was completely sure that this human, whatever he was, was going to kill him. He could tell by the deranged look in his eyes. 

Ryu sat up, his eyes immediately drawn to his friend. He did not like what he saw. Malik's eyes were narrowed, and the irises had a strange flattish quality to them, the pupils mere pinpoints. His face was expressionless, save for a smirk that was twitching at the edge of his mouth. He looked like a psychopath. In fact, he looked like-

~His yami~ Ryou answered the thought. 

~His yami is supposed to be gone!~ Yami Bakura said. 

~Let me deal with this.~ Ryou took over, quickly standing up. "Malik," he called quickly, trying to forestall the imminent death of the other youkai, "don't shoot." He wasn't sure if he didn't actually _want_ the youkai killed, but he didn't want Malik to be the one to do it. 

Malik's attention immediately snapped to Ryou, but the gun never wavered. Yami Bakura focused on Ryou's slow movements, ready to take over if Ryou was considering doing something silly and chivalrous like stepping in the way of the gun pointed at the youkai. Ryou snorted to himself; he wasn't _that_ suicidal. 

Ryou advanced slowly, keeping his eyes locked on Malik's the whole time, getting closer with each step, but staying out of target of the gun. Finally he was right next to the Egyptian. Ryou laid a gentle hand on his forearm, pushing the gun down slowly, encountering only slight resistance from Malik. He looked into his friend's blank eyes, calling softly to him, "Malik? Come back to us…."

Something flickered in the lavender depths, and the only thing that kept Malik from collapsing to the ground was Ryou's proximity. He grabbed the Egyptian, who had collapsed like a puppet whose strings were cut. The gun fell to the ground from his limp fingers. 

Malik quickly regained his footing, looking at Ryou in puzzlement. "What happened?" he asked. He couldn't for the life of him figure out how he had gotten here.

~He doesn't remember anything?!~ Ryou said, startled. ~What are we supposed to tell him?~

~Anything but the truth,~ his yami replied grimly. ~Do _you_ want to be the one to tell him he was acting like his yami?~ 

They were interrupted by Alex. "Hey!," he called out. Both boys turned towards him quickly, startled. All three had completely forgotten about him. 

Alex picked up Toukijin, and held it out to Ryou hilt first. "Here, your sword. I guess we'll continue this some other time?" He picked up Malik's gun as well, and handed it to him. "Weird. I always thought mikos couldn't channel their power through metal. But then, you can't be a miko, can you?"

Ryou's jaw dropped. 

"What?" the youkai said.

"A minute ago you were trying to kill us!" 

The youkai stared at him for a minute in surprise. "Kill…?" he smacked one hand to his forehead. "Oh! Now I get it! I wasn't going to _kill_ you! It was just a challenge for the sword! Honestly, if youkai went around killing each other over every little thing, we'd have died out _ages_ ago!" he looked at Ryou strangely. "Where have you been that you didn't know that?"

"Not now," Malik intervened. "Right now we're in a whole lot of trouble." He pointed at the large group of spectators, including their class and teachers. Ryou paled.

~I am in so much trouble now!!! This is all _your_ fault!~

~_My_ fault?~ his yami said in a hurt tone, ~What did _I_ do? Blame that youkai~

Ms. Matano strode over, a stern look on her face. "What is your name?" she demanded of the youkai.

"Alex," he answered, startled. None of the boys had been expecting that question. 

"Well, I hope you're pleased with yourself! You just got these two into a lot of trouble. Next time make sure there's no one around before you start a stupid fight like this one! Now scram!"

Alex looked at her strangely, before nodding slightly. "O…kay…" He gave a sort of half wave, before vanishing into the trees. 

Malik poked Ryou. "Ryou, what _happened_? What was-" 

"_Later_," Ryou cut him off, as the irate teacher turned towards them. 

"I honestly don't know what's going to happen with you two," she said tiredly. "There aren't any school rules about youkai students, so you might not be expelled immediately," she said to Ryou, "but frankly, I don't see the student body, not to mention the teachers, being very open-minded on the subject."

"You don't seem surprised that Ryou's a youkai," Malik commented. 

Ms. Matano smiled. "I have studied these legends for my entire life. I should hope I'd be able to recognize a demon when I see one!" the smile left her face. "You also are in trouble. Despite your intelligence, you are a troublemaker, and the school will not ignore the fact that you carry a gun, probably illegally."

Malik shrugged. "I was planning on leaving school this year anyway. Twelfth grade isn't mandatory, and if I finish all the Regents exams this year, I shouldn't have any problems being accepted to university."

~I had no idea Malik was capable of thinking that far ahead~ Yami Bakura commented.

~Oh, hush~

Ryou tuned back into the outside world, to find the teacher and his friend looking at him, probably waiting for a response to something he had missed. 

"Come on, Ryou, we're going," Malik said impatiently, "or is there something incredibly enjoyable about standing here all day?"

Ryou quickly went to join them. As they neared the class, he could immediately see a difference in the mood. They met with cold, unfriendly stares from almost all the students (excepting Yugi's group and several others), and the other teachers. Ms. Matano began herding everybody towards the bus, ignoring the muttering. 

"Ms. Matano, I refuse to get on the bus with that- that monster!" one of the female students said shrilly, pointing at Ryou. Mutters of agreement began among some of the students. 

"That's awful!" Tea said. "You've known him for ages, now suddenly because he's not what you think he is you say he's a monster?"

"Ryou's never done a thing to you!" Joey yelled at them. 

Despite how the girl's words had hurt him, Ryou had a warm feeling in his stomach from his friends' support. The current situation, with all its problems, did have some good things. It was bringing them all closer together, and his yami had certainly changed for the better! Briefly, he wondered where they would all be now had the whole mess with the Shikon no Tama not occurred. He didn't really know; it would have depended on what they found in the Pharaoh's memory, which they would definitely have found by now. 

Ms. Matano finally reached a compromise with the class. Ryou sat with Malik at the very back of the bus, with Yugi, Joey, Tea and Tristan as a barrier between the 'psychotic _thing_' and the rest of the class. 

"We'll protect you, in case Ryou gets hungry and decides to _eat_ someone," Yugi said sarcastically. 

Once they had started driving, Malik turned towards Ryou with his arms crossed. 

"Now that we have the convenience of privacy," he said, "tell me what happened." 

Yami Bakura took over. "You threatened to shoot that youkai, he chickened out. That's it."

Malik rolled his eyes. "That's a lame excuse. A regular gun couldn't hurt him. Tell me!"

"Actually," Yugi said, "that's exactly what it looked like from where we were standing…" 

Malik glared at him. 

"See?" Yami Bakura said innocently.

"Then the comment that Alex guy dropped about mikos projecting their power through metal has absolutely nothing to do with it?" 

"You got it." Yami Bakura kept a straight face. When he didn't want to tell something, there was no way anyone would get him to talk. He smirked as the Egyptian growled at him. Malik finally gave up, and sulked for the rest of the drive, refusing to look at Bakura. 

~Great going~ Ryou sighed.

~I didn't tell him. Isn't that what you wanted?~

~He's still sure that something happened, he just doesn't know what. Couldn't you have convinced him nothing happened at all?~

~He may be a dumb blonde, but he's not _that_ dumb~ 

~I think you find it physically impossible to hold a conversation without insults~ Ryou said, exasperated. 

Nobody was really paying attention on the last day of the trip. Everybody was too keyed up over the affairs in Nagoya to appreciate anything, and the last day was cut short to bring everybody back to Domino. There was no point in just wasting time for the sake of it. 

When they finally arrived in Domino, Ms. Matano called the whole tired, ragged, group to order. "I believe this has been an educational trip, for all of us," she said. "Tomorrow you won't have school, so you can all sleep until noon and spend the rest of the day 'recuperating'." She smiled. Despite their tiredness, the students still found some energy to cheer. 

As Yugi&Co. began making their way towards their respective homes, Joey cast a speculative glance at the other students. 

"I bet you it takes two days at most for the whole school to know," he said. 

Ryou sighed. 

A/N: I got my first draft notice! It makes me feel so grown up… 


	17. Many Meetings

Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! And now, the chappie we've all been waiting for…the gang meet Kagome! Though it might not go quite like you all expected.

**Reiko5:** I gave it 2 days to spread, since none of the students who knew Ryou was a youkai would be at school the next day…

Many Meetings 

Malik was wandering aimlessly, frustrated out of his mind. Once again, something was wrong with him. Something was _always_ wrong with him. Ryou's and the Tombrobber's reluctance to elaborate was a sure sign. Why wouldn't they tell him? The only conclusion he could draw from their silence was that it was something _bad_. Once again, he strained his mind to remember what had happened, only to draw a blank. A blank in the memory, where he knew he had done something. That was one of the signs of schizophrenia. He walked faster along the path in the park, trying to come to a different conclusion. His yami was _gone_. He wasn't crazy anymore. He wasn't! 

Not looking where he was going, the Egyptian turned a corner quickly, only to bump into someone coming from the other direction, the impact knocking both people down. 

"Ouch!" The exclamation came from the other person, who he now saw was a girl, looking to be about his own age. She had long, dark brown hair, with bangs that framed a sweet face, and brown eyes. She was wearing the regular (hideous, in his opinion) Domino High uniform. He sighed.

"Sorry, are you okay?" he held out a hand to help her up. He didn't expect the girl's reaction. She stared at him, looking almost scared, and flinched away. The slight gesture hurt him. What had he done now?

Kagome stared up at the tanned hand extended towards her, and flinched away involuntarily. The aura she felt from this boy- it was awful! He was evil; there was no question about it. The corruption was practically radiating off him. But, he was offering to help her? And she saw a hurt reflected in his lavender eyes as she flinched away, that puzzled her. So despite the fear she couldn't help from feeling by being this close to something so awful, she quickly grasped his hand and got to her feet. "I'm sorry," she said apprehensively, "I don't know what got into me…"

"It's fine," he grunted, "I should be the one apologizing."

She didn't get it. He was behaving like a normal person! It didn't make sense. She studied him more closely. He wasn't Japanese. The miko part of her immediately took notice of the lavender eyes, which told of demon ancestors somewhere down the line. All the strange hair- and eye- colors of this time period were inherited from the intermingling of youkai and humans over the centuries. In ancient times, humans all bore strictly human coloring. She also noted that he was quite good looking. 

"Why are you staring at me like that?" he snapped. 

"Sorry," she said quickly, "It's just, I don't understand-" she broke off the sentence.

"Understand what?" he demanded intensely. 

"Why you aren't…an evil …psychopath…" she blurted out. What was she saying?! All this corruption must have muddled her senses. How stupid was it to go around asking people she didn't know why they weren't psychotic from corruption? "I mean, your Shikon shard, it's all corrupted!" she rushed on, "and-" 

"I _was_ a psychopath, before." He could have kicked himself, several times. Next thing he would be blabbing about the Millennium Items to the whole world! But something in him said that it was okay, that he could trust her. And that scared him; since when did _he_ go around trusting people?

"Oh."

It was a strange situation. Two people, who had never seen each other before in their lives, touching a very delicate subject, both wanting to be several thousand miles away, doing anything but this, but feeling forced to continue. 

"What do you mean by corrupted?" Malik asked.

"When a Shikon shard, or the whole Shikon no Tama is in the presence of demons or a very great evil, it will become evil as well, and continue spreading corruption." She spoke in an even tone, almost as if she were talking about the weather or some other inane topic. "To me, it feels like the Shikon shard in your possession is very corrupted, and has corrupted you very badly. Hence my question." 

"I had…problems, up until not so long ago. Does this corruption mean I could return to that state?" He felt like he was talking about someone else. This whole situation was just too unreal.

Kagome nodded slightly. "Please," she said quietly, "could I see it?" In all the 'smog' of corruption, she couldn't tell exactly where the Shard was. 

Malik reached behind him, and pulled out the Millennium Rod, extending it slightly towards the girl, but keeping a tight grip on it. 

Kagome stared in wonder. She could see that the golden object was what was corrupting the Shikon shard. Instinctively, she reached out one hand to touch it, feeling the power well up inside her as she began to purify the shard. 

Malik watched, feeling slightly uncomfortable as she touched his Item, but getting a slight sense of peace from her. For a moment, a weight lifted from his mind, a weight that had been there so long he didn't even know it was there, but then the feeling dissolved into pain. He gasped in shock, reeling backwards, the Millennium Rod leaving his grip as he sank to the ground. Sweat broke out all over his body, and his arms closed spasmodically around his torso, in too great an agony to even scream. He felt like he was being torn to pieces, hot knives tearing through his very soul. 

Abruptly, the pain stopped. Malik knelt on the ground, gasping.

"I'm sorry! Oh my God, are you okay?" Kagome was horrified. She knelt down next to him, putting her hands on his shoulders, hoping that she hadn't done any permanent damage. She felt horrible; she had never hurt another living being like this! Was there something wrong with her miko powers, that caused him to react this way?

"What…the hell…did you…do?" he panted, glaring at her. Unpleasant memories awoke in his mind. How his father used to beat him. How his 'yami' had hurt him. More recently, how the koromiko had tortured him. 

"Thank goodness." Kagome breathed, hugging him with relief. Malik was startled. None of the others had hugged him afterwards, or tried to comfort him. He knew it was fake, that nobody really cared, and that the world essentially sucked. But how many times had he sat alone and pleaded, to whatever god was listening, for forgiveness? How many times had he sat within the confines of his mind, and wished for a yami like the others, a yami whose purpose was to protect his hikari? There was something different about this girl. She knew what he had been, he could see it in her eyes. But when he said he had been evil, she hadn't looked repulsed or afraid. She knew what evil was. 

Kagome could sense spirits, and what she sensed within this boy- no, he wasn't a boy anymore, he had grown up already- confused her. Within the darkness surrounding him, she could sense a light, a purity, that hadn't yet given up. Also, there was something subtly wrong with his soul. 

"I was just trying to purify the Shard, but it, and the corruption appear to be linked to you somehow." 

"So I've been told," he answered bitterly. 

"Tell me," Kagome asked, "how long have you had it? When was the last time you were parted with this," she gestured at the Rod.

Malik started thinking back, his breathing slowly returning to normal. As far as he could remember, he had never parted with the Millennium Rod, ever since he had gotten it. He said so.

"I don't think you _can_, anymore" Kagome said thoughtfully.

Malik stared at her in shock. "That's ridiculous!" he snorted, "I keep it with me because I like it, because it's a great source of power, and because if I leave it just lying around somebody would probably steal it. It's not like I _need_ it in order to live or anything!" 

Kagome was uncertain. She didn't press the issue, but she felt sure there was more to it than he said. Now that she concentrated, she could feel the connection between the man and the item, and it went deep, deeper than she thought safe.

"I'm sorry," she apologized again, "for hurting you; I really didn't know something like that would happen! It's never happened to me before-"

"It's okay, really," Malik said. 

"You're quite forgiving," Kagome mused, "considering what I just did to you."

"No, I'm not. It's just not often that the people who hurt me bother to apologize."

Once again, Kagome saw in him the scars, and the inner pain that haunted him. She wanted to reach out, to help him, to heal him. Once again, she could have someone to live for, to make happy. A slight feeling of hope rose in her heart, a hope that had been dead ever since she had known that she would never be returning to Ancient Japan, that Inuyasha and her son were irrevocably lost to her. Now, she finally had something to tie her to this era that had once been hers. 

Abruptly, something seemed incredibly silly to her; she didn't even know his name! 

"My name is Kagome Higurashi," she said, "what's yours?"

"Malik Ishtar," he responded. "I also go to Domino High. I guess I'll…see you there tomorrow?" the question was slightly hesitant.

Kagome smiled and nodded. They parted, each walking down the path in a different direction, still strangers, but something more as well. 

Kagome continued walking through the park, lost in her thoughts, until a flash of white drew her eye. She stared at the group of kids walking towards her, ignoring all of them except the one slightly on the right, with his brown eyes and pearly white hair. She froze, right there in the middle of the path, staring. He looked just like Ryu!

"Ryu?!" she exclaimed, without thinking. 

They all stopped and stared at her. She felt embarrassed; it was stupid, really, to think that Ryu could be here.

Yugi, Joey, Tea and Tristan all glanced at Ryou, who looked paler than usual.

~She called me Ryu!~

~She lookes…familiar, I know I've seen her before!~ Yami Bakura took over. Kagome gasped as she noticed the changes in him, making him look even more like her son.

"Ryu, it _is_ you!" she said weakly. 

"You are…" he trailed off, trying desperately to remember who she was. 

"I'm your mother!" 

There was complete silence, as everybody digested that remark. 

The universe watched in amazement as, for the first and last time in history, Yami Bakura fainted. 

After they had woken Ryu up, a jumbled conversation had started, with everybody trying to explain and ask what was going on at the same time. Eventually, they calmed down enough to see about getting some answers. Kagome told about the destruction of the well, and her wish. Everybody was surprised to learn that Ryu's mother was actually from their own time period. What Kagome wanted to know the most, though, was how Ryu had come to be here, and if there was any chance of Inuyasha being alive as well.

"I'm sorry," Ryu said, "but I don't think there's much chance that Inuya-I mean Dad's alive. After the well got destroyed, he told me to escape with the seven Shikon shards, to prevent Naraku from getting them. What could I do? I left, and that was the last time I saw him. After that, I can't remember much at all, but I do know that I got to Egypt eventually and became a tombrobber."

Kagome sighed in dejection. She hadn't really thought there was a chance, so she wasn't _too_ disappointed, but it still hurt. This was Ryu, it was her son, but at the same time he wasn't. She could tell that he felt alienated from her, because of whatever had happened to him in the three-thousand-plus years since they had seen each other last. Things wouldn't go back to how they had been.

"So, tell me how you are alive?" she asked.

Ryu pulled out the Millennium Ring. "I'm not exactly alive. My soul is inside this ring, and I'm- I mean, Ryou's sharing his body with me." 

Kagome studied the Ring. "It looks a lot like a rod thingy this guy I saw earlier had."

"What did he look like?" Yugi asked.

"His name is Malik Ishtar," she began. 

"Yeah, we know him too," Joey said immediately. "We're friends of his." 

Several months earlier, they would have considered the very thought ludicrous. 

Kagome nodded. But something still bothered her. Ryu- or Ryou, and Yugi also had corrupted Shikon shards, but it didn't appear to be affecting them as much as it was affecting Malik. "You know, there's something weird about his Shikon shard," she said. "It's sort of linked to him, in a rather negative way. Your shards, or Items, aren't –well, _latched_ onto you the way his is. I really don't know what would happen if he were separated from it. Since you're his friends, I thought you should know."

They talked a little longer, but the conversation was slightly strained. Everybody wanted to go and find a quiet place just to think. Finally, they all went their separate ways, waving semi-cheerful goodbyes and promising to talk tomorrow. 

A/N: I went to my first convention! It wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped. I guess the people around here are just boring. I bought volume 1 of Clamp 

Campus Detectives and .Hack//Legend of the Twilight. I also got a Miroku earring!!! It's so cute! 

The second season of YGO finally got dubbed here, and they totally destroyed it. The script is just awful, and they gave Malik Frieza's voice actor. As in, Frieza from DBZ *****shudder*****. On the upside, they also brought Card Captor Sakura, in the Japanese version, so it's not quite so messed up. No stupid censorship and changing names and stuff. 


	18. Tired

Again, thanks for all the reviews! Since I last updated, I also wrote a weird little oneshot about Malik (go read it! Sorry, shameless advertising…). Look for the next chapter of this in 2 weeks!

**Megaera****/Shalimar-** I am aware that there is no 'l' in the Japanese alphabet. But I have a question: if there was a character whose name in the Japanese version was Rachel, would her name be Racher in the dubbed version? It's the same thing with Malik. Malik is a known Arabic name, which makes sense since he's *gasp* an Arab! Marik, however, is not really an existing name. That's why I call him Malik. It's like Rishid, that's an Arabic name too. 

**Freai**- Israel. ^_~

And to all of you who have been reading but don't review, please? At least once? 

**Tired**

Ryu was walking towards his hikari's house, his mind in turmoil. On one hand, he was happy that he found his mother, but he couldn't help but think that it might have been better to leave the past in the past. Frankly, he wasn't quite sure what to do about the current situation. He knew she was his mother, intellectually, but when he searched for any kind of feeling on the matter he drew a blank. He didn't feel _related_ to her. What he felt was akin to the feeling you get when meeting a very distant relation; the familial connection is there, but any relationship between you will be based on friendship, without any feeling of obligation. Now, he was sort of stuck. He would like to spend time with his mother, maybe get to know her better, but there was Hikari to think about; what would he do with him? Kagome wasn't related to his hikari at all…. Speaking (or thinking) of his hikari, he had been awfully quiet lately. The yami decided to investigate.

~Hikari?~

~So you remembered I exist, did you?~ Ryou sounded uncharacteristically angry.

~What are you talking about?~

~You shouldn't be asking me!~ Ryou snapped. ~I'm just in the way, after all. Get on with your life, don't bother with me.~

What was with his hikari? How dare he talk to him that way! 

~Of course,~ Ryou answered the thought, ~I'm nothing more that your _landlord_, right? Your weak, pathetic, useless hikari who's always in the way.~

~What's wrong with you!?~ the yami snapped back. ~You're being completely unfair! What did I do to you?~

Perhaps that was what hurt Ryou most. His yami hadn't even noticed how he was taking over Ryou's life, little by little, once again. ~Everything! Ever since you started getting your memories back, it's been all about _you_! I was happy for you, I was helping you, but you just started getting distant again, doing whatever you wanted, not taking me into consideration. You ruined my life! Now, because of you, I'm not even human anymore, I nearly got expelled, and everybody thinks I'm a monster. In addition to all that, did you think I didn't notice how _you_ thought about me? How you considered me so weak and incapable?~

~I never- ~

~And before, when you were talking to Kagome, what was it you were going to say? 'I 'm sharing my body with Ryou', maybe? _Your_ body? And now, I'm in the way, too?~

~You're- ~

~Because of me, you can't go and do what you want, is that it? Well, go ahead! _I_ won't bother you, I'm sure! Take your precious sword and go live with your mother, ignore _me_!~

~Hikari-!~

~Maybe that's really all I am for you. Your 'yadonushi', your landlord!~

He reached the house, automatically going in, and going straight to his hikari's room. 

~Hikari, that's not true- dammit!~ Ryou had blocked him off. ~At least give me a chance!~ he said, almost pleading. He could tell that he had hurt his hikari badly, and really did want to make it up to him. Ryou opened a tiny crack in his defenses, enough to hear what his yami had to say. Even when miserable and hurt, he still was reasonable.

~You're right!~ Yami Bakura admitted. ~I _have_ been single minded about this whole business, I have been ignoring you, I'm continuing to screw up your life, and I was acting generally very nasty. But believe me, I didn't mean to hurt you!~ he was thinking quickly, not sure how long his hikari would give him. ~I'm not good at being 'nice'. I'm a tombrobber and a youkai for Ra's sake! But before anything else, I'm your yami. If you want, I'll-I'll stop digging into my past. After a while, if you didn't train, your body would probably go back to being similar to a normal human's. I won't exchange more than 'hello's with Kagome. I'll give you Toukijin.~ he knew what it was he was offering to give up, but he was sincere. The last thing he needed was to lose his hikari's trust. It had taken him so long to gain it, and he couldn't imagine living without him. 

~No!~ Ryou thought, shocked. He might be angry, but demanding that would be…disgusting. ~What kind of person would I be if I asked you to do that?!~ 

_The kind of person _I_ am?_ the yami thought rather sadly. He didn't want his hikari to lose the innocence, the optimism, the purity, that made him who he was. ~I'm serious!~ he said firmly. ~Whatever else I once was, now I'm your yami. You are more important to me than anybody else.~ 

~Really?~ Ryou almost whimpered. 

~Really~ he tried to sound as reassuring and sincere as possible.

Ryou could sense his yami's sincerity, and his forgiving nature immediately began to take hold. ~But I don't want you to stop looking for your past; I know that it's important to you! Everybody should know who they are.~

~You insist?~ he didn't want to ever have to go through this again, it made him… nervous.

~I insist~

Yami Bakura took a deep breath. ~I still want you to have Toukijin~

~What?~ Ryou said startled, ~no, I can't take it! You love that sword!~ he protested. 

~Hikari, I really care about you, and it would make me happy for you to have my most prized possession~ it still hurt him to part with the sword this way, especially after he had gone through quite a bit of trouble to obtain it, but after learning how his hikari felt about what was happening, he decided this was the best course of action. Another consideration, which he kept locked tightly in his mind, was a worry of what would happen in the future. Their yami/hikari situation wouldn't last forever; he wanted his hikari to have the sword to protect himself with when he was not around. Not that he planned on dying any time soon. But just in case. 

~Yami, how can I accept the sword when I know you don't want to part from it?~

~Hikari…please?~  

~Okay, Yami~ he agreed quietly. Right now, it didn't matter that much; they shared the same body anyway. 

~Tomorrow, we'll start practicing with it~ his yami said cheerfully. 

                         *          *          *

Malik woke up at his usual time on Friday morning. He didn't need an alarm clock; his inner clock was extremely accurate, a by-product of living underground for so many years. He sat up in bed, his eyes immediately going to the Millennium Rod lying innocently on his nightstand. After several minutes of consideration, he decided to leave it there. 

He went through his usual morning routine, washing his face, brushing his teeth and hair, and getting dressed. Only as he was about to leave the room did he notice that he had put the Rod in his belt, as usual. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance at the object. Deliberately, he took it out, and put it back on the nightstand, pulling his hand away reluctantly. He shouldn't leave it sitting here; he always had it with him. He didn't _need_ it or anything, it was just…comforting. Besides, who knew what could happen- He snatched his hand away, before he could pick it up again. Why was it so hard for him to leave the damn thing? He took a few steps back, putting both hands behind his back to keep the traitorous things from snatching it up again. "I don't need you!" he hissed at the golden item, which was currently reflecting sunlight innocently. He took several more steps back. It was a strangely difficult task, but that only served to harden his resolve to leave it. "She was wrong! I'm leaving you home and that's final!" 

Quickly, he turned and rushed out of the room, slamming the door shut, and leaned against it, panting slightly. He felt a little light-headed, but nothing worse. _It's__ psychology, idiot!_ He snapped at himself. _Just because she said you wouldn't be able to leave it, you're getting all worked up. Get a grip!_

He turned to go to the kitchen, getting more confident as he didn't drop dead or have any other tragedies befall him. Kagome was wrong. He was perfectly fine. 

                           *         *           *

Joey's theory turned out to be correct; it seemed that the whole school already knew about Ryou's demonhood, and he had quickly reached the top of the 'social outcast' list. On the bright side, nobody even tried to hurt him physically. Apparently, they were afraid of being eaten or something. 

Lunch found the whole gang with a table to themselves, and plenty of room all around. 

"Sixty nine." Tristan commented. 

"Sixty nine what?" Yugi asked.

"Sixty nine dirty looks shot towards us since lunch began. Seventy, now." 

They were all trying to keep Ryou's spirits up, since he seemed rather uncomfortable about the situation. There were only so many times you could be on the receiving end of glares and mutters of 'monster' before it started getting to you. Before, he hadn't been remotely close to being popular. Now, he was experiencing universal hatred. He decided that he didn't like it. 

~I don't know why you care about what a bunch of lowlife humans think of you, anyway.~

~Yami!~ Ryou protested. ~Don't say that! Just because they're humans doesn't mean they're automatically inferior! That kind of thinking is what caused all the fighting and hatred for so long!~

Ryu laughed. ~Hikari, everyone is inferior to me. Besides, they'd be lowlifes even if they were youkai. They're just that kind of people.~

Ryu and Malik had hoped to see Kagome at lunch, but she had a tutoring lesson scheduled so she couldn't come. The others had also wanted to talk to her more, there was no doubt that she was an interesting person, but weren't letting her absence (or the rest of the school's attitude) dampen their spirits.  

The only one who seemed really out of it, though, was Malik. He hadn't eaten much, and was now sitting with his head on the table staring into space. Occasionally he would stifle a yawn.

"Malik, are you okay?" Ryou finally asked. 

"I'm fine," he answered, but didn't raise his head. 

"You've been like that since this morning," Joey commented. "You didn't sleep well or something?"

Malik shrugged. "That must be it. I'm just tired, that's all. I'll probably take a nap when school's out."

"Or during some class," Tea teased. 

                         *        *        *

Malik watched the clock as the seconds dragged by, willing the grueling day to end. He was so exhausted! Now, in addition to the fact that he wanted to find somewhere to curl up and sleep for the next twenty four hours or so, his muscles felt tired, as if he had been working out very hard. He was starting to get a little worried. This feeling seemed familiar. If only he could concentrate, he would probably remember. 

The bell finally rang, and he got together his stuff as quickly as his clumsy, tired state would allow, and started walking towards where his motorcycle was parked. His breath was coming in shorter gasps, and he was getting dizzy. The very act of walking was becoming a supreme effort of will, but he forced himself to continue. _Just a little longer_, he thought. He leaned against the outside wall of the school for a moment, just to catch his breath.

_I can't continue_. The realization hit him hard, as he found himself physically incapable of mustering the energy necessary to keep walking. _I remember when I felt this way. It was right after I lost my crazy half_. He sank slowly to the ground, trying not to panic. _I'll be okay_, he reassured himself. _I'll get my breath back in a minute. I won't let that stupid piece of metal win! _

His breathing was becoming labored, as each inhalation took more and more effort. _Just breathe!_ He forced himself to block out everything, except the steady movements of his lungs. Already he was becoming dizzy from the lack of oxygen. Now serious panic was beginning to set in, giving him a small burst of energy. There is nothing in this world quite like the terror of suffocation, the burning in lungs that _must_ have air, but don't. If he lost consciousness, there would be nothing forcing his body to stay alive. It meant death. _Just…another…breath… _He managed to inhale some precious oxygen, but not enough. Not even the fear of death was enough to keep him alive. _Somebody, help me!!! _

**A/N: **FYI, we are going to have about 2 Malik-centered chapters here. I haven't forgotten that the fic is about Ryou and Ryu, but this idea just demanded to be done. Not that I mind, since Malik's my favorite ^_^. 

I read the first chapter of YuGiOh R. It turns out that it's not by Kazuki Takahashi, but by somebody else, so the art isn't quite as nice. It's also not a continuation of the story, but a pre-Memory Arc thing, right after Battle City, which is too bad. It would've been more interesting if it was an actual continuation, but hey, any kind of continuation of YuGiOh is good! 

I'm so happy, I now have an earring of Inuyasha also (thought with his bluish hair and pink eyes he looks more like Y.Bakura) and one of Kagome ^_^. I also got three more, of Sakura, Maria, and Sumir from Sakura Wars. 

I also came to the conclusion that (dun dun dun) Yugi is _not_ that short. It's just that all the others are about as tall as the Empire State Building, and twenty kilos underweight. Kaiba is about 186 cm tall, Mokuba weighs 28 kilos. Ryou is 175 (or somewhere around there) and weighs 52 kilos. Malik is 180 cm and weighs 55 kilos. _I_ weigh more than that (and I'm pretty skinny). They're all anorexic, I tell you. 


	19. Spirit

OO I'm going nuts…school is getting worse and worse. I hope I'll survive. You should be very proud that I'm updating. Thanks to all my reviewers, once again!

**Smiley-chan:** I know, I really like Yami Malik too. He actually will be returning, but only a bit later. There's lots of other things that still have to happen. About YGO R, it happens right after Battle City before the Memory Arc, and seems to have something to do with Pegasus (never mind that Yami Bakura killed him). I've only read the first chapter of it, so I don't know any more yet.

**Rowan Girl:** Yeah, I think I saw that fic too, but I remember it as not being incredibly realistic. Some fics should have research done for them.

**ChibiMalik****:** Actually, for some reason I _do_ like making Malik miserable. About the pairing-I'm surprised nobody else commented on it, I was _trying_ to be obvious about it. At first I came up with that idea purely for the gag factor, for the reason you mentioned, but then I got to thinking about it, and I talked about it with some firneds of mine, and came to the conclusion that it actually would work. On the other hand, it's not going to be permanent (they have a 'rebound relationship', meaning they both went through some traumas, and needed a relationship in order to help them get over it, but they're not really _meant_ for each other). It's not going to play a big part in the fic either way, since this _is_ about Ryou and Ryu, and not them. And no, I don't think Anzu and Malik would be an especially successful pairing.

**Freai**: I've been to Kansas. It was pretty nice. If it really bugs you, you could always move somewhere less 'dull', but sometimes dull can be nice.

**Zircon:** Glad you think I improved.

**Spirit**

Tea was walking slightly ahead of the others, because her mother had asked her to be home earlier that day. She had just turned the corner of the school building, when what she saw made her stop in surprise.

"Malik?" she asked, quickly advancing towards the sitting boy, calling to him again when he didn't answer, this time more urgently. "Malik?!"

The Egyptian was slumped against the wall, his head hanging down on his chest, his pale hair masking his face. His knees were bent, and his arms lay lifelessly on either side of his body. She knelt by him, and shook his shoulder gently. He looked like he had just collapsed there. Could he be sleeping? She dismissed the thought as ridiculous as soon as it rose. Tentatively, she reached out to pull his head up to she could see his face, encountering no resistance. _He's dead?!_ She thought in horror. His lavender eyes were half open and staring, and his lips were slightly blue in the expressionless face.

"YUGI!" she screamed, "Joey! Guys!"

Only after the initial moment of panic did she realize that he wasn't, in fact, dead. Malik's dark skin was still warm, and she could also detect a faint movement in his chest that indicated he was still breathing.

"Tea! Are you okay?" Yugi, Tristan, Joey and Bakura had arrived, looking concerned. They immediately took in the scene, and Tea saw them leaping to the same conclusion she had first come to.

"He's not dead!" she reassured them urgently, "but he will be unless we figure out what's wrong!"  

Yami Bakura grabbed the blonde hair, pulling Malik's head up so he could see his face. "He can hear us," he said, noting the refocusing of the eyes, then snapped "keep breathing!" at him, almost as an afterthought.

"Maybe he was attacked by a demon?" Tristan speculated. He could have been poisoned by something; the types of demons out there were incredibly diverse, and the lack of visible wounds meant nothing.

"I don't sense any youki on him," Bakura answered.

"He's been tired since the morning," Yugi mused, "but it's been getting worse all day. It must be something that happened in the morning, then."

"Quit holding him by the hair," Joey said.

"Yugi, can't you use the Millennium Puzzle to read his mind or something?" Tea asked urgently.

"No, the Puzzle can't read minds, only the Rod-"

"The Rod!" Joey exclaimed. "Does he have it?"

Everybody's eyes locked for a moment, before Bakura turned back to the comatose Malik, quickly turning him over to check the back of his belt, where he always kept the Item. It wasn't there.

"He must've left it at home! Kagome said that he was linked to it…"

Tristan grabbed the keys to Malik's motorcycle out of his backpack. "I'll go get it. Don't let him die!"

They watched as Malik drew another slow, shallow breath.

"Hang on, man." Joey said.

His current state didn't allow for much thought or contemplation. All his being was focused on one thing: obtaining enough precious oxygen to survive. But still, a small part of his mind knew that he wasn't alone. Before, he had never believed in the power of 'friendship'. When Yugi claimed that his victories were because of his friends' support, he had thought it to be silly, idealistic, bull. Now, though, if he didn't hear their urgings to keep breathing, feel Ryou's arm around his shoulders, know that they would help him, and that they believed in him, he would surely be dead. Alone, he would have given up.

Kagome sensed something was wrong. The second the teacher let her, she tore down the hallways and out the school doors, towards the source: a group of students sitting near one of the walls of the school. They all looked up at her grimly, not surprised in the least to see her there.

"He left the Rod at home," Yugi said. He didn't need to say any more; Kagome understood immediately. She bit her lip. He looked so fragile now, and the evil in him was more like a disease than anything else, dragging him down. Now that the corrupted Shard was not near him, she could sense more clearly what was wrong with his soul. She didn't understand how such a thing could have happened, but she was pretty sure she knew what the problem was. She took one of his hands in hers, whispering "It's on its way, just a little more!"

There was a screech of tires as Tristan braked abruptly. "Toss it!" Bakura yelled. The golden Item flew through the air, to be caught by the youkai. He quickly put it in Malik's hands, wrapping lax fingers around the metal. For a minute, there was no change, but then the fingers tightened until the knuckles turned white. Malik shifted, curling slightly around the Rod, panting harshly. Everybody exhaled with relief, only now noticing they had been holding their breaths. The tension in the air lessened for a moment.

"You _idiot_!" Yami Bakura broke the silence, hitting Malik on the head. "Are you suicidal or something?" he yelled, "what were you trying to prove?!"

"That he doesn't _need_ the Millennium Rod," Joey answered for Malik. He understood what the Egyptian had been thinking. In the same situation, he would have done the same thing.

Malik finally spoke. He wished he was anywhere but here. He wished he could blow up something. He wished there was someone who would give him a hug, and comfort him. He wished he didn't feel angry at himself for wishing the former. "Why?" He looked up at his…friends, finally finding Kagome's eyes.

"I don't understand how something like that could have happened, but there's a piece missing from your soul. A rather large one," she began, wondering if they, at least, understood the situation. Comprehension dawned in their eyes.

"The other me!" Malik growled. He was dead, gone! Why couldn't he just leave him alone? Was he doomed to be haunted by the psycho for the rest of his life?!

"I'll explain later," Ryou said quickly to Kagome. She nodded, and continued.

"Souls are supposed to regenerate parts they lose, but for some reason, possibly because of your proximity to the corrupted Shikon shards, it wasn't able to regenerate. Since a person can't live with only part of their soul, you needed another power source, something to keep you alive. From what I can tell, the Millennium Rod and the Shikon shard inside it are essentially a part of your soul."

Malik's eyes widened. "Damn." Now, he completely and utterly hated the stupid Item. If it could, he was sure it would be snickering. Why was it always _him_ that had the screwy life?! "Great. Now I've had it all: A dead mother, a sadistic father, a psychotic yami who could be included under 'schizophrenia', and a Millennium Item that'll kill me if I'm separated from it. Anything else?" he snapped sarcastically.

All in all, he was taking it rather better than Kagome had hoped. It hurt her terribly to have to say it, but still she continued. "Well-"

Oh, so there was more. How nice.

"I told you that when Shikon shards are corrupted, they also corrupt people who are in constant contact with them. So-" The rest of the sentence hung in the air. In a few years, he would once again be the psychopath of Battle City.

"And what if I die?" he sounded almost eager at the prospect. He might as well, if he was doomed anyway…

"I think…" she mused. What _would_ happen if he died? "I don't think your soul would be able to pass on, since a part of it would still be here. I guess your soul would be tied to the Shikon shard."

"You would…become the Spirit of the Millennium Rod," Ryou said quietly.

Malik dropped his face into his hands. "DAMN!" There were no openings left to him: even death was no longer an escape. For the first time in years, he wanted to just sit down and cry.

The others watched him standing there, not sure what to do. What could anybody possibly say?

Malik turned his back on them, head hanging down. "I think I'll go mope somewhere, if you'll all excuse me. I'd throw myself off a roof, but it wouldn't do me much good, would it."

"Would you like some company?" Yugi asked quietly, immediately wondering what possessed him to suggest it. He never quite figured out the answer, but he would always be thankful he had.

Malik stared at him strangely, possibly wondering the same thing. "…Sure."

I was sure he was going to say no Yami Yugi said in surprise. Yugi agreed silently. Outwardly, he smiled and went to walk beside Malik, who was striding purposefully down the street, going nowhere.

"He left his bike," Tristan commented. "I guess I'll drive it to his house."

Yugi watched Malik out of the corner of his eye. They had been walking for over ten minutes, and the Egyptian hadn't yet spoken. Yugi wondered if he had forgotten about him.

Yami, should I say anything? he asked.

I don't think so, was the reply. Maybe he doesn't want to talk. Maybe he just wants companionship.

Their route was indirectly going towards the sea. Already, Yugi could see the calm, blue water in between the buildings.

"I hate you," Malik commented, out of the blue. 

We'd noticed Yami Yugi commented silently. Out loud, Yugi said nothing. There wasn't much he could say to that. Briefly, he wondered if coming here was such a good idea; Malik had a known tendency to blame the Pharaoh when things went wrong, and he didn't want to be around if Malik decided to get rid of him, again.

You already made up your mind to trust him, his yami said. I do not believe that he would try such a thing, but rest assured that if he would, I would protect you.

Malik eyed Yugi silently. He had wanted to test Yugi. What exactly he was testing, he wasn't sure, but he was happy to note that Yugi didn't seem affected by his comment, other than looking a bit sad.

"Have you ever contemplated suicide?" he asked.

Yugi looked startled. "Um, no, I don't think so…"

"I did, a few times. But I never actually tried it. I wonder what would have happened if I had died, and never come back to Domino…" he trailed off, contemplating the ground.

"Isn't that awfully depressing?"

"I guess so. But what about my life _isn't_?" He stuck his hands in his pockets. "You have no idea how much I envy you, Yugi. You have it made, don't you? You and your friends' lives are just great."

"That's not true!" Yugi said. "Both of my parents died when I was young. In school, I was always the short one. I was bullied constantly, I was almost afraid to walk home every day! It was only after I got the Millennium Puzzle that they started leaving me alone."

Malik looked at him uncertainly. "I never knew that," he said. I might've related to you more if I had, the thought stayed unarticulated.

"And that's not all," Yugi said, warming to his subject. "Then Pegasus stole my grandfather's soul, and had that whole messed-up tournament. Since I got the Puzzle it's like all the weird people in the world are after it! You think it's easy, having the responsibility of saving the world?"

"I think that's pure arrogance!" Malik snapped. "Let's be realistic, shall we? None of the things you fought against, or any of the people the Pharaoh fought against were a serious threat to the world."

"What are you saying?" Yami Yugi growled. "I'm warning you…"

"Shut up and listen!" Malik was now angry as well. "You think the ancient Egyptians were the only ones who had any kind of magic? If they had, then surely other nations had it as well. The American Indians had, the Babylonians had, the Assyrians had! Other gods existed too, you know! Even if you lost one of your precious world shattering battles, what's the worst that would happen? Eventually somebody else would have come along and fixed it up. I've read about the Millennium Items, you know. I know their purpose. And I've read about the exact same thing in Japanese mythology. It's the absolute _height_ of arrogance to think that without you, the world would be doomed!"

"Are you saying that I shouldn't have even tried? That everything I did was pointless?!"

"Of course not! I'm saying, get over yourself. You may have been the Pharaoh, but you aren't any more. Stop living in the past. It's because of these _stupid_ ancient traditions that my father used to beat me. It's because of them that I had pretty designs drawn on my back with hot knives!" his tone could have frozen water. "And what about all those people you passed 'judgment' on in modern times?"

"Who told you about that?!"

"I have my sources. Who gave you permission to judge them?"

"They got exactly what they deserved!" he yelled. The two had reached the seaside, but the beauty of the afternoon was completely lost on them as they stood on the deserted quay and yelled at each other furiously.

"Why do _you_ have the right to decide what they deserve? Is it because you have the power to do so? You're-"

"I did what I did in order to help the people I care about! I admit that maybe I wasn't always right, but I am only doing the best I can! Everybody makes mistakes sometimes. Just because y-" he cut himself off quickly, before the sentence finished.

 He must have known what Yugi was going to say, because Malik turned away quickly. "Go ahead and say it: Just because I never cared about anyone. I knew I should have come alone," he said in a choked voice. "I'm sorry." He hung his head, closing his eyes. Why did he have to turn everything into a fight? He was really a hateful person.

Yami Yugi was left speechless. He frankly didn't know what to make of the Tombkeeper-no. About that, he was right. The past was _past_, and who a person had been, didn't necessarily define who they were now. He shouldn't have thrown that remark. How much of Malik's anger covered up pain and fear? He put one hand on Malik's shoulder. "No, I'm the one who should be apologizing" he said, a little uncomfortable. He wasn't good with this whole schtick.  

You're doing fine, Yugi assured him.

"What am I going to do?" Malik said brokenly. "I don't want to be- to be my yami." He started shaking uncontrollably. "It's hopeless! There's nothing to do, there's no way I can fight it!"

"Don't give up yet," Yami Yugi said. "There's time, and where there's time there's hope." That was what defined him. He hoped. He believed.

Malik looked at him, a heartbroken, lost look full of pain that found no release.

"It's okay to cry," Yugi said quietly.

Maybe, maybe it was okay. The lavender eyes immediately began overflowing, harsh sobs escaping his throat. Yugi pulled him close, holding him gently as he cried into his shoulder. Malik hadn't cried in years. He had thought himself incapable of it anymore. But the ability to cry is one of the things that separate the human from the animal. As long as he could cry, he would know he was still human. Only Men laugh, only Men dance, only Men weep.

**A/N:**  first of all, the line at the end is a quote I stole from Marion Zimmer Bradley.

**QUESTION:** What type of ka do you think Yugi would have?

Personally, I think this chapter was a bit strange. Now my greatest temptation was to kill of Malik and screw up the rest of the storyline by having him become a yami (OO weird thought), but I won't. Last week we had 'Bonfire Night', where pretty much everybody went out to the streets to build big ritual bonfires (well, not _really_) in every empty lot. Me and my friends built one too, but I only stayed until about 1:00 AM b/c we had a huge history exam two days later. Everybody else stayed until morning sigh no fair….


	20. Full Circle

Once again, thanks to everybody who reviewed!

**ChibiMalik**: This isn't a romance, and having them make out all the time would be pointless and unnecessary to the plot. As to the other options, I'll just have to wait and see how it fits into the story.

**Zircon**: Wow. That's really nice of you. I didn't think I wrote _that_ well. U

**Kawaiililaznkitsune**: He will be making an appearance, b/c I couldn't stand the thought of just leaving him a loose end. But as to _when_, you'll just have to wait and see.

**Full Circle**

Ryou lolled on the living room sofa, a pleasant ache in his muscles. Ryu had been insisting on practicing with Toukijin, and Ryou agreed, despite the fact that he had no intention of keeping the sword. He just didn't want to hurt his yami's feelings. Ryou rolled over slightly, to watch said yami, who was currently building a card house out of Duel Monster cards. I wonder if he looked like me even in his previous life, he mused. He must've been pretty similar; Kagome thought I was him immediately.

"Yami, how was I today?" he asked, referring to the previous practice session.

Ryu answered without turning around. -Klutzy, as usual.-

Ryou smiled. He had really improved. Now he was just klutzy, as opposed to 'laughable', 'incompetent' and all the other creative and descriptive adjectives his yami had found to describe his fighting abilities.

"Yami, why do I look so much like you?" He had been wondering about that for awhile now. "Am I your reincarnation or something?"

Ryu snorted. -You couldn't be. My soul has been stuck in the Millennium Ring for the past 3000 years.-

"Then what connection is there between us? What makes us yami and hikari? Where did the idea come from? Besides us and Yugi, are there any others?"

-Sheesh, you sure don't skimp on questions. Shadi or Isis would probably give a long speech about Destiny and stuff, but I'm not sure it's that. If you ask me… he thought for a minute, I'd say it was necessity.-

"What do you mean?" he would never have thought it had anything to do with _necessity_, of all things.

-Something happened in ancient Egypt, and we got stuck in the Millennium Items. Because our fight wasn't finished, and we weren't dead yet, the circumstances had to be created for us to finish what we had begun, so we could, eventually, die. Nothing lives forever; that's the nature of the world. I guess that's really what prophecies are. Seeing the ultimate end of a conflict that leaves the world in a state it can't exist in.-

"I see," Ryou said.

-That's good, because _I_ think what I just said was total nonsense-

Ryou grinned. "Okay, so now I'll explain it to you. Sometimes unnatural situations, e.g. souls getting stuck inside metal items, are created, and at that point there is a possibility of there being a prophecy, because Reality, or the Gods or whoever, will make sure that the circumstances needed to rectify the situation are created at some point or other."

Yami Bakura placed another card onto his card house, which already had six levels. -…Right. If you say so. he sighed. I'm running out of cards here. Go get me your booster decks.-

Ryou rolled to his feet, and trudged to his room. He pulled a box of cards out of one of his desk drawers, and threw it at his yami's head once he got back to the living room.

-Watch it, hikari- Ryu said.

Ryou flopped back onto the sofa. "Hey yami, why do you hate the Pharaoh?"

-Because he-- abruptly, he lost his train of thought. He had _known_, a minute ago, but now he couldn't remember. Drat. He looked at his hikari, struck once again by the innocence practically radiating off of him. Physically, they were so similar. It never ceased to amaze him how they could be so fundamentally different. Ryou was probably the only youkai in existence who was so pure. He blinked several times, suddenly noticing that Ryou was waving a hand in front of his eyes.

"Earth to yami," Ryou said cheerfully. Ryu batted the hand away, and went back to his cards. He looked at the Dark Necrofear speculatively.

-I wonder, if I fought against one of these monsters, I wonder if I could defeat it?-

"I think so," Ryou said confidently. "You are less limited in your abilities than the monsters are. Duel Monsters is fought within very rigid guidelines, which are actually incredibly different from a real battle."

Hikari has definitely come a long way, Ryu thought. I think I really like it better when I have him as a companion, and not as an inferior. Ultimately, when two people are as close as a yami and hikari are, one of two things would have to happen. Either they would learn to get along, or one (and possibly both) would be destroyed.

Both quarter-youkai were enjoying the temporary lull. The presence of two powerful demons and a miko had depleted the local demon population quite a bit. In school there were no tests for the next week or so. Nothing world-shattering was happening and everybody was in a relatively cheerful mood. Over the past few weeks, Malik had cheered up slightly from the news of his impending doom, though Kagome definitely played a significant part in _that_.

"Yami, does it bother you that Malik and Kagome are going out together?" Ryou wondered. "I mean, my best friend is dating your mom. Isn't there _something_ wrong with that?"

-Actually, I don't think it bothers me much. They really need each other. Haven't you noticed how they've both stopped looking so… alone, lately? Besides, I told you. No matter how I try, it's hard for me to think of Kagome actually being my mother.-

"I guess you're right. It's nice seeing them happy together." Abruptly he started chuckling.

-What?-

"Think about it. If they ever got married, that would make Malik your stepfather!" Ryou laughed.

Ryu stared at him. -Ra. That's just…sad.- A very disturbing image of Malik in a business suit telling him to do his homework or else what kind of job would he have? flitted across his mind.

"Don't worry," Ryou said mock comfortingly, "I'm sure you'd be able to come to _some_ sort of arrangement."

-Ohhh, you're just the epitome of consideration, hikari. His train of thought jumped a track.

-Speaking of Malik, did you know he's been hacking again?-

"Really? I thought he quit. What was he hacking this time?"

-I don't know, he wouldn't show me. Actually, he was pretending not to be hacking at all, but I'm sure he was. I tried to check afterwards, but he's always been very good at erasing his footprints. I think it was something to do with flight records, though.-

"I wonder what he wanted with those. On the other hand, maybe he was just bored."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, while Ryu continued on the seventh level of his card house.

"Yami," Ryou began, knowing how childish he must sound but asking anyway, "Are you going to stay with me always?"

Ryu looked at him sharply. -Hikari, you of all people should know that nothing lasts forever.-

"But _would_ you leave me, if you could stay?" Ryou looked at him with pleading eyes. Ryu hated not to promise, but he knew that he couldn't. -Hikari, don't ask me to make a promise I don't know I'll be able to keep.-

Ryou sighed in dejection. He had pretty much expected that answer, but he had hoped to be proven wrong.

Yami Bakura looked at his handiwork in satisfaction, having built quite a large card house. Carefully, he reached down to the bottom level, and removed a card.

"Yami-!"

Ryu laughed as the entire structure collapsed upon itself.

"Yami, you spent so long, why did you knock it down?"

-Because destroying is the fun part!- Ryu grinned. Ryou sighed. He wondered if he would ever truly understand his yami. Several more minutes passed in silence, both youkai keeping their thoughts to themselves. Finally Ryou got to his feet again, knowing that he had been putting off the inevitable long enough. He went back to his room, and pulled out of the closet a medium sized cardboard box, full of letters. So many years he had been writing to his deceased sister, Amane, it would be strange not to anymore. But he had promised. He thought back to last night, when he had been writing a letter, the last one he would ever write…

_Ryou__ took a pen and paper and sat down next to the darkened window. He felt almost guilty for not writing so long, as if he were being unfaithful to his sister's memory. He wondered, abruptly, whether his sister would have been a quarter youkai as well, if she had lived. _

_'Dear Amane,' he began, then stopped. How should he start? He stared speculatively out the window, seeing a faded reflection of himself, but there was something else there as well. He watched as another reflection seemed to be coming towards him, from inside. He looked over his shoulder, into the lit room, but there was no one there. Ryou looked back at the window, seeing the other reflection getting clearer, coming to stand next to his own reflection. Another quick check inside the room proved once again that no one but him was there. Now he could see that the other image was a girl, a young, brown haired girl, who looked very much like him. She had the same thick, slightly messy hair, and wistful brown eyes. _

_"Hello, brother," she said, except that he wasn't really hearing her. Her mouth was moving, but he wasn't really hearing the words with his ears. _

_"Amane," he said, his mouth dry. _

_She smiled at him. _

_"Why are you here?" he asked. _

_"I could not rest," she said. "How could I, when I knew my brother needed me? I came back, to read your letters." _

_Guilt rose strongly in Ryou. Because of the letters he had written, his sister couldn't rest in peace? "I never meant for that! I just…missed you."_

_"It's okay," she said cheerfully. "What are sisters for, if not to watch over their brothers?"_

_"Don't you get tired of being a ghost, though?"_

_She looked a little sad. "I don't exactly have a choice in the matter, so I am happy with my lot." _

_"I don't want to keep you in this world, it's not natural." Ryou said, even guiltier than before. Now he understood what had happened; because he had not been able to get over his sister's death, he had denied it by writing the letters to her, which had not let her move on, either. "If I stop, will you be able to pass on in peace?"_

_"If you truly can come to terms with my death, then yes." _

_Ryou__ reached one hand to touch his sister's image in the glass and she reached her hand to meet his own. It might have only been his imagination, but it seemed that the glass there warmed for a moment._

_"Rest in peace, Amane," he said, one tear sliding slowly down his cheek. _

Now he was taking all the letters outside to burn. Neither he nor his yami spoke as the bright flames consumed the box, and to Ryou it seemed almost like a funeral pyre.

- - - - -

Hiromi, the eldest daughter of Miroku and Sango stood at the site of the old well. Shippo, the kitsune, now looking to be in his early teens, was standing next to her. The area had hardly changed, though twenty years had passed. Vegetation seemed reluctant to grow in the scar where Naraku had scorched everything while destroying the well. They had been spending the last few weeks re-digging the well, to the same size and depth it had been before. Now the Taijiya and the fox stood before their completed work, but they felt no happiness or satisfaction from the job.

"It had to be done," Hiromi said sadly. "There had to be an old well here, that's what Father said."

Shippo nodded. They had been through this several times already. "If we didn't re-dig it, there would be no well in Kagome's time for her to fall into. We had to dig it, because in Kagome's time somebody already had." He wasn't completely sure he understood the circular logic, but Miroku had been adamant that they recreate the Bone-Eater's Well. There had to be a well, because there already had been one, which Kagome had fallen into. It had to be dug, so it would be there for her to fall into in _her_ future, which was _their_ past, yet also a part of their own future. Just trying to figure it all out is enough to give you a headache.

"It's really the end, now," Shippo said sadly.

"Or maybe, it's the beginning…"

- - - - -

Once there was a boy, who grew up underground. He was told that his purpose was to guard the tomb, until the Pharaoh returned. But living underground was not very enjoyable; it was all dark and gloomy. He heard his brother and sister talking once, how the heir of the tombkeepers always went insane and died young. He wondered what 'insane' meant. Did it mean acting like his father, who was always angry, who beat them for the littlest mistake, who never seemed to find peace? Would the same thing happen to him?

Growing up in the presence of great evil, is like growing up in a radioactive dump, or a place where disease clings to the very walls. The longer you spend there, the bigger the hold it has on you, especially if you've spent your whole life there. Like disease, some people are more susceptible than others. And, like a disease, if enough time passes, the body will evolve, and develop a protection.

This boy's situation was strange. On one hand, he was more susceptible to the evil than anybody else who lived there, but on the other hand, his body, unlike the rest, developed a defense. As he grew, his mind was split. All the evil he soaked up was channeled into one half, allowing him to remain innocent. The solution was not perfect, though. Evil still seeped through, and Circumstance arranged for the loss of the boy's innocence. The other half, the corrupted one, grew out of control. He too wanted to live a life of his own. He too wanted a name. He grew to hate his lighter half, and was hated in return. Both fought for control of the body, and the dark one was stronger, until he was banished by someone stronger than himself.

No one, least of all the dark half, knew the true purpose of his existence. The Pharaoh had been right; the purpose of the Dark was to protect the Light.

**A/N:** Stupid, stupid QuickEdit. It messed up all my nice formatting!!!

Thanks to those of you who answered my question. Right now it seems to be between Maha Vailo and Kuriboh. I'll have to think about that….if you have any other ideas, or reasons supporting either one, go ahead and say!

Greek mythology is a soap opera. Egyptian mythology is an X-rated soap opera. See you next chapter!


	21. Exasperation

**Exasperation**

Ryu was sitting under a tree in Ryou's back yard, meditating. It annoyed the hell out of him that he couldn't remember how to use his youki. Now that Shadi had forbidden them all from using their Millennium Items for awhile, in the hopes that the energies would stabilize enough for Yugi to regain the Pharaoh's memories, he needed some reliable way to defend himself. True, he had Toukijin to rely on in case of attack, but still. He strained his mind, trying to remember how he used to manipulate his youki. He growled in annoyance. How was he supposed to fight like this? He didn't even have claws! Wait, claws. The thought sparked a faint memory, which vanished almost immediately, to his great annoyance. Calming himself, Ryu took a deep breath and cleared his mind again, allowing the word to trickle through his consciousness. Abruptly, his eyes shot open and he glared at his fingertips in concentration, which had small gold lights flickering at their tips. Concentrating, he reached into the well of energy at the center of his being, trying to give the claws form. After fifteen minutes of minimal success, he flopped onto his back. At least he had managed _something_, not that that thought consoled him much. He hated failing! His earlier calm forgotten, he called out to Ryou, splitting off to his ethereal form. "Okay, Hikari," he snapped. "Now you're going to start learning how to use your youki."

"My what?" Ryou asked tiredly.

"You know, your youki. Your demon energy. Don't be stupid."

"Ah," Ryou said. For some reason, he had never thought of himself as having youki. He actually didn't really think of himself as a demon, yet.

A while later, Ryu was standing with crossed arms, watching as his hikari attempted to connect to his youki. It helped his bruised ego a little, to watch his hikari fail just as miserably at it as he had.

For Ryou, it was a strange experience. He himself had never tried using magic before, though if Malik could because of his Millennium Item, theoretically he could as well. He could feel the energy inside of him, but it was chaotic, untrained. It would take plenty of practice until he could use it properly.

- - -

In the living room of the dog youkai known as Alex, Kagome sat chatting with Susan. The two demons were first cousins, and Kagome after had made contact with the bearer of Tenseiga, the two had set to meet. For Susan, it was fascinating to talk to someone who had actually known the great Sesshoumaru, and lived through the whole Naraku episode. For Kagome, it was an opportunity to learn more about the situation of youkai nowadays. There were many changes in the world, that she hadn't noticed before she had moved permanently (or so she thought) into the past. The existence of youkai had influenced the world in many ways, incorporating legends, even changing the way the human race looked. In the past, humans had strictly human hair- and eye colors, but over the years the intermingling with youkai had caused many strange colorings to pop up, such as the purple eyes that were rather common now.

Looking at Susan brought Kagome a pang of pain, reminding her of all the people she had once known, and would never see again. Meeting her son again was practically a miracle, though not a completely happy one. She couldn't help but notice how much he had changed since she had known him, and she wasn't quite happy with some of the changes. The problem was that he was getting too old for her to scold anymore, and he wouldn't be inclined to listen to her after all the growing up he had done on his own. The best she could hope for was to be friends, and maybe over the years they could recapture their old closeness.

"So what's it like to be a youkai nowadays?" Kagome asked.

"Actually," Susan said, "it's not that different from being human, just more difficult. We live pretty much all over the world, but very few humans know of our existence. There are simple spells that we use for disguise, that are kept on talismans and things. Youkai have to move around every so often, to prevent people from noticing the lack of ageing."

"What about intermarriage?"

"It doesn't happen that often, for the simple reason that if we dilute the youkai blood down too much, we'll die out. Already several of the rarer types of high-level demons have become extinct, such as the squirrel youkai." She smiled at Kagome's expression. "On the other hand, there's not nearly so much stigma against half-youkai, though quarter youkai are fairly rare."

"I see that you carry Tenseiga. Can you really use it?" Kagome hoped the other wouldn't be offended by the question.

Susan shrugged. "I can, but it's pretty hard. I considered becoming a doctor, so I could utilize the healing abilities, but it would attract too much attention."

"What about the other power?"

"What other power?" Confusion was apparent on her face. "Tenseiga heals, that's all."

Kagome was nervous. Hadn't Sesshoumaru told his children how to use the sword? On the other hand, it would be extremely like him to leave it to them to figure it out for themselves. "Tenseiga…can bring people back to life."

Silence echoed through the room, as Susan absorbed that remark. In all her wildest dreams she had never thought of having the power to bring people to life! Disappointment hit her hard, as she knew she wouldn't be able to make good use of that ability. Simple healing with the sword took a lot of energy out of her; she didn't want to think what kind of energy reviving someone completely would demand! Over the years youkai had weakened. The obsession with fighting had vanished, taking with it many of the old schools of techniques, resulting in their loss. Even the powerful demons of modern time would probably be only as powerful as the medium-powered demons of old.

- - -

Yugi sat bolt upright in bed, a strange feeling sending tingles up his spine. He reached quickly for the ward that Kagome had written for him, watching the light purple mist rising from the floor suspiciously. His yami was awake in his mind, in case he would need any help, though Yugi was prepared to fry whatever demon dared bother him. Malik was also learning how to write wards, but thus far all the ones he made tended to make the youkai explode rather violently and send blackish-purple lightning in all directions. Yugi watched the floor intently, only to gasp in surprise as the mist turned into the familiar turban-wearing form of Shadi.

"Geez, Shadi, don't sneak up on me like that! I thought you were a youkai!" Yugi cried in relief.

Shadi remained unruffled by the outburst. Yugi abruptly wondered if Shadi could possibly be a demon; he was definitely weird enough.

"I have been monitoring the balance of energy in the Millennium Items, and I believe the balance has been restored enough to attempt to access the Pharaoh's memory."

Yugi was immediately awake. "That's great!"

_Finally_, his yami said eagerly.

"We can go there tomorrow!" Yugi said enthusiastically.

_-Wouldn't it take a bit more than just a day to get to __Egypt__?_

_-What?_

-_Isis__ took the tablet back to the museum in __Egypt__,__ she said she couldn't keep it in the __Domino__Museum__ any longer._

_-Oh_. That definitely put a damper on their plans. On one hand, he had promised the spirit that he would help him regain his memory, but he would be in big trouble if he took time off school now to go to Egypt. His whole life could be messed up by that, because if he didn't have good grades….

Yami Yugi sighed in frustration. It seemed that _somebody_ up there was conspiring against him getting his memories back, and he was getting quite tired of it. However, he felt guilty because of all the trouble he had caused his other half, and he certainly didn't want to mess up his hikari's life. He himself would hopefully finally pass on to the next world, but Yugi would still be here to deal with whatever messes were left.

-_I am willing to wait until your school is out of the way to get my memories,_ he informed his hikari, slightly reluctantly.

-_But, you've been waiting so long! And_-

-_No,_ he said firmly. -_I don't want you to suffer in school because of me. I will wait._

"He says that he's going to wait until the school year is over, because it's really difficult for me to get to Egypt right now." Yugi said.

"If you wait, the balance it took so long to reach might be lost." Do we detect a note of exasperation here?

"I'm sure we'll manage, we'll just not use the Millennium Items until after school's out."

"Whatever," Shadi said. "But I am _not_ going to be the one running after the Item holders telling them not to use them. I'll leave that to you, O person with the patience to deal with a bunch of stubborn people." He promptly sank through the floor.

"Wow," Yugi said. "I had no idea Shadi could be sarcastic."

- - -

In the end, it actually turned out for the better that the trip to Egypt was postponed. The teachers were gleefully utilizing the month until the end of the year to dump as many tests as possible on the students. That, coupled with the Regent's exams, turned the end of the year into a living hell (well, maybe not quite that bad, considering all the other bad things happening). The students had even discovered a new weapon against youkai-Biology books. Yami Yugi did what he could to help his hikari study, but Ryu thought the whole thing was a waste of time and did nothing to hide his opinions.

- - -

Ryou was dreaming again. He was stalking a demon through a dense forest. He could smell it easily, and knew he would catch up to the creature soon. His every sense was alert, attuned to the tiniest change in the environment that would warn him of an attack. A rustle in the bushes up ahead alerted him, and he held his hands ready to strike out at the demon. It exploded from the bush with an inhuman shriek, its four blood-red eyes focused furiously on him, its long claws poised to slash. It opened its mouth, revealing enormous fangs, and cried "_How much is cos(30)?_"

Ryou shot up in bed, panting. "Square root of two-no, three! Square root of three over two!" he gasped.

-_YOU, are pathetic,_ was his yami's disgusted comment. -_The way you all agonize over school is really sad. You refuse to go out, and Malik's locked himself in his room with his books! I can't even duel with the stupid Pharaoh!_

"These exams are really important! If we fail, it could seriously mess up the rest of out lives! We won't get accepted to university! We won't get a job! We-"

Ryu rolled his eyes. -_You seriously need to take things easier._

"Don't be annoyed, we'll get to Egypt as soon as possible so you can get the rest of your memories back," Ryou said placatingly. "That's what's really bothering you, isn't it?"

Ryu sighed. -_Since when do you know me so well?_

"Since you've been living inside my head 24/7," he yawned. "Now, it's the middle of the night, and I'm going back to sleep. G'night."

- - -

In between the world of the living and the world of the dead, there are cracks. Sometimes people find these cracks and try to use them, but ultimately, it only leads to problems. Inside these cracks is chaos, the darkness that lurks on the edges of the universe, which hopes to reclaim it someday. It hardly seems possible for anything to exist in this realm of darkness, but something does. It isn't alive, it merely exists. Unlike all the others locked here, who lose themselves to the chaos quickly, he held himself together. Hatred burned inside him, hatred and anger at those who had dared to lock him here, and contempt for those who thought that he would placidly remain here. There was no sense of time in this place of darkness, and he didn't care. Ultimately, he would break out of these pathetic bonds that held him, and then, oh yes, they would pay dearly for what they had tried to do.

A/N: Yesh li hayom bagrut, v'ani mamash lechutsa me'ze, v'ein li koach lichtov kan mashehu amok ki ani b'panika. Atem lo mevinim, nachon? Achshav atem yod'im eich ani margisha kshe'kulam kotvim shtuyot b'yapanit bekol chor. Techtevu b'anglit, anashim! Tafsiku lehitlahev me'ze she'atem yod'im safot muzarot.


	22. Phone Calls

And once again, thanks to all my reviewers! Thanks to my mom who proofread this chappie!And, eh heh, I'll explain what happened with last update's A/N at the bottom….

**Mahaad**: Why would I cuss you out? It seems like an awfully extreme reaction for something like that…It was a parody on all the songfics on ff.net that are so repetitive and all the same, I just got tired of them and decided to write a spoof.

**Phone Calls**

Susan sat on the sofa in Alex's living room, waiting for the person on the other line to pick up. She didn't really mind mooching off of Alex's hospitality; after all they were cousins, and it was a good idea to keep good relationships going within the family. Demon politics were rather complicated, and it was important that the powerful families maintain a united front. Finally, a voice answered.

"Give me Seitaro," she demanded. The secretary seemed reluctant until she identified herself. After that, she was immediately transferred to Seitaro's office.

"Hello, Susan," he sounded incredibly pleased to hear from her. "I'm overjoyed to hear your beautiful voice once again."

"Cut it out. I've spent too long in America to be polite, so I'm going to offend your delicate Japanese sensibilities by being blunt. What's this I hear about you wanting to muck around with the Lost Shards?"

"Surely you know the danger they pose," Seitaro said, masking his annoyance and her interference. "Leaving them in the hands of a group of human youngsters is potentially disastrous. The Shikon no Tama has been around for long enough, and the Shards have been lost long enough. It is time to put this situation to an end."

"How? By attacking them and possibly starting an inter-species war?" Susan scoffed.

"They are planning on leaving the country soon, with the Shards. We cannot risk losing them again, and we cannot risk having a bunch of irresponsible teenagers gallivanting around with something as valuable as the Lost Shards. We will take charge of the Shards."

You, she thought, are a power-hungry idiot. Demons like this always made her hackles rise. It was exactly this kind of domineering stupidity that would get people like Seitaro killed one day. On the other hand, what else could you expect from a snake youkai? "Whether any of us like it or not, those Shards belong to _them_ now. Trying to take them away could have disastrous results." She continued quickly, preventing him from saying anything, "However, I agree that we should not let them go unsupervised. So I will be accompanying them to Egypt, to make sure that a youkai representative has a say in the ultimate fate of the Shards."

She could practically hear the wheels turn in his head, as he immediately responded, "Oh no, such a job is not for someone like you, especially seeing as this area is completely out of your jurisdiction-"

"I pull rank on you, Seitaro," Susan said lightly. Even though Seitaro was part of an old and powerful youkai clan, she still outranked him in youkai politics by being both a member of Sesshoumaru's clan, and the current bearer of Tenseiga. She could practically hear him hissing with frustration on the other end, even as he politely granted her request. Susan hung up the phone, feeling relieved. Her presence would keep the power-hungry Isekis away from the Lost Shards, at least for the present. In addition, she knew that as long as she was with them, the Lost Shards would be under the jurisdiction of her clan, something which could only improve her family's already exalted status. Despite the fact that in these modern times most of the great youkai lived in peace among the humans, there were still many who were corrupt and would do anything to gain power. From what she had learned about this group of teenagers, they posed a serious threat to the current balance of power in the demon world. They owned four of the Lost Shards, two were quarter-youkai and essentially the sons of Inuyasha with one of them being the bearer of Toukijin. Kagome was one of the most powerful mikos of her time, and that other houshi was powerful enough that even untrained, he was a serious threat. She wouldn't put it past some of the slimeballs she knew to try to assassinate any of them, or use any other corrupt means to try to restore their feeling of security. Susan sighed. It was going to be a bit of a schlep to go all the way to Egypt now, but if she had already dragged herself halfway across the globe from New Jersey to Japan, what were a few more plane flights?

-------------------------------------------------

Most of the gang, including Kagome, was sitting around the Turtle Game Shop, talking excitedly about the upcoming trip. School was finally out, and now the trip was being planned in earnest.

"I don't know if I can come," Joey said. "I mean, all those plane tickets are pretty expensive, not to mention the lodging. Don't you think it's dumb to waste so much money over seeing a couple of sand hills and rocks?" he shrugged noncommittally. "You guys can just tell me how it was later." Though he tried to seem as if he didn't care, Joey was really disappointed that it didn't look like he could go with his best friend to finally get Yami Yugi's memories back.

"It's okay Joey, there's nothing to be embarrassed about! I can't really afford this trip either," Tea said.

"Who said I can't afford it?" Joey growled.

"Ah, just be quiet," Tristan advised. "I'm going to have to scrape to get the money together also."

Yugi didn't have any problem with money, as his grandfather promised to pay for the whole trip, and Kagome didn't have any money problems either. Ryou wasn't rich, but he also could afford the trip easily, especially thanks to his bank account in which the money seemed to multiply mysteriously overnight. Ryu denied any intervention, but Ryou didn't believe him for a minute.

"Actually," Yugi said cheerfully, "Money shouldn't be a problem at all. Isis said that they're going to take care of half of the expenses! So everybody can come!"

"Wow, that's great!" Joey exclaimed happily. Immediately the mood improved, as Yugi's friends rejoiced that they could continue on his journey with him.

------------------------------------------------------

Malik watched indifferently as Rishid moved around the apartment, arranging stuff and putting it in piles, before starting to put stuff in the suitcase on the floor.

"Malik, do you have any preference about the clothes I pack for you?" he asked, after awhile.

Malik nearly dropped his book in surprise. "What are you talking about? I'm not going."

"Of course," Rishid said patiently, "but what clothes do you want?"

"I'm not going to Egypt!" Malik snapped. "I-" He was cut off by the phone ringing. Rishid went to answer, then returned with the cordless. "Here, it's Isis," he said.

Malik snatched the phone.

"Hello, brother dearest. Are you all packed?" Isis asked sweetly.

"I'm not going with you. I'm staying right here in Japan."

"But Malik, would you really be so cruel to leave Rishid and me to keep your friends out of trouble all by ourselves?"

"Sure. Your trip, your problem. I have big, important things to do here."

"Like what?" Isis snorted.

"I'll have you know that bumming around takes up a lot of time and energy!" He wasn't going to mention his _other_ plans for the summer to anyone, yet.

"I would think that since you're paying for half this trip that you'd want to come along and see what we're doing with your money."

"WHAT?" Malik practically shrieked. "No way am I paying for this! What makes you think I even have that kind of money?"

"How many private bank accounts around the world do you have?"

"…Um, only two?" Malik said nervously.

"How about six?" Her tone was sweet enough to make sugar embarrassed.

"I need that money! I was saving up for university and…stuff…" he trailed off.

"You don't need all of it." Isis said briskly, "Especially since I already told Yugi to tell everybody we were paying…"

"But, but," he whimpered.

"Of course, if you don't want to come, that's fine, just be prepared to find your resources severely depleted from food shopping, hotels, souvenirs-"

"Fine! I get it! I give up! Just stay the hell away from my bank accounts!"

"Malik!" she squealed happily, "I'm so glad you decided to come! And it's so sweet of you to offer to help everybody pay."

"Isis," he growled, "_Don't_ push me. I need to go pack. Good_bye_." He turned off the phone, feeling rather annoyed that he couldn't slam it down forcefully. "What are you smiling at?!" he snapped at Rishid.

Rishid, the picture of innocence, wondered, "Was I smiling?" Malik flopped onto his back on the sofa staring at the ceiling. Egypt was his homeland, true, but he felt no great urge to go back there. If he never saw Egypt again in his life it would probably be too soon for him. On the other hand, maybe this trip would do him good, to go back and confront his past, and bury some inner demons. The mental image of himself jumping on a demon's grave made him smile.

-------------------------------------------------------

Ryou sat deep in contemplation of what lay before him. He seemed fascinated by the pristine curves, the flawless smooth texture, the-

_Quit staring at the phone already!_ his yami snapped. _You're procrastinating. Call your father and get it over with already! _

Ryou sighed, and, feeling like he was on the way to the guillotine, dialed his father's number. Finally, his father answered.

"Hello, Father? It's Ryou…" After a few pleasantries were exchanged, Ryou finally got to the reason for his call.

"My friends and I, you know, Yugi and the others, are going to Egypt for a while to visit a friend of ours. I wanted to tell you, so you wouldn't worry."

There was a slight silence, as his father thought. He had not failed to notice that Ryou had not asked permission; he simply wanted to keep his father informed. It looked like their relationship wasn't going to be salvaged in the near future.

"That's nice," he finally said. What else could he do? "Will you have any grownups chaperoning you, at least?"

"Yeah, both of Malik's older siblings will be there."

"I'll send you some more money, so you don't have to worry about expenses." He might not get along with his son very well, or agree with him, but fighting with him over nonsense he couldn't do anything about anyway would not improve the situation between them at all.

"Thanks, Dad!" Ryou said, genuinely surprised and pleased. He hadn't been sure if his father would actually let him go, or try to stop him. After their last meeting, the relationship had become strained. Before that, their relationship had been nonexistent; now it was uncomfortable.

"Have fun," his father said. "Just watch out for the mosquitoes, and make sure you drink enough."

"I will. Bye."

"Goodbye."

Ryou smiled as he cut off the line. It had gone rather better than he had expected.

_Sheesh__, it's not like he actually could've stopped you or anything, you know_, his yami commented. Ryou ignored the comment, and continued with the packing he had stopped to make the call.

_Yami__, do you have any suggestions as to what kind of clothes I should take? I mean, it's going to be really hot, isn't it?_ Ryou asked.

_Nothing sleeveless or you'll get burned before you can say 'I'm hot'. Try to stick to loose clothes, though._ Abruptly he started laughing. _I can just see the Pharaoh now! If he sticks to his usual black and leather, we'll have Boiled Pharaoh real quick. _

_ ----------------------------------------------------------------------_

Finally, the day of departure arrived. Everybody met at the Domino Airport, yawning and dragging their suitcases and carry-ons, for their 3:00 AM flight. As the whole group- Yugi, Joey, Tea, Tristan, Ryou, Malik, Kagome, Susan and Rishid boarded the plane, Susan felt a bit of sympathy for the other passengers. They hadn't been able to get a direct flight to Cairo, so they had to first fly to Paris, a fourteen hour flight, wait there for three hours until their next flight, which would be four hours long, to Cairo. Susan hoped that everybody had enough to occupy them for the whole flight, because she truly didn't want to see what they were like when they were bored.

Susan hadn't exactly asked permission of anybody to come along. She had told Kagome at some point, who had passed it on. Surprisingly, she hadn't encountered any great resistance to the idea. Either they didn't see her as a threat to their cause, an idea which amused her because she was an _extremely_ powerful youkai, they trusted her enough to come with them, or they genuinely didn't care one way or another.

Yami Yugi watched the demon out of the corner of his eye. He truly didn't mind her coming, for he had the suspicion that there was more at stake here than just his memories. Also, he trusted Kagome's judgment (even if he didn't think much of her son), so if Kagome said she could come, then he agreed. But he still would be wary. She was the unknown factor here, the only one who he couldn't pinpoint their motives and goals at least fairly accurately.

Everybody was occupied in some form or other. Joey was eating, which surprised no one. Tristan had fallen asleep. Ryou had had a rather drawn-out argument with Ryu about meditating in the airplane. Ryou had insisted that it was a bad idea, because if anything got out of hand the consequences could be disastrous. Ryu had finally agreed, and went into his soul room to sulk, while Ryou pulled out a book and started reading. Tea had been talking to Yugi until not long ago, but now she was watching the movie, which was some romance flick, and Yugi had gone to rest in his soul room. Malik was staring out the window blankly, while Kagome slept on his shoulder. Rishid had his arms crossed and his eyes closed, but with him it was impossible to know if that meant he was sleeping or not.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

To the dark being living inside the dark mass of Chaos, all time was the same. The Chaos around him shifted and changed, but not in any recognizable pattern that could be used to tell time. He didn't care. To him, all time was made up of one long moment, and that moment would last until he was free. But now, something had changed. He could feel that something was different, almost like a touch on the back of his mind, but it was so elusive that he couldn't pinpoint it. Slowly, the rage and hatred in his mind were being pushed aside by the obsession to figure out what was bothering him. He strained and struggled and twisted, but he couldn't understand what was different. Now he was experiencing a new feeling, and he didn't like it at all. This feeling made him want to scream, to break something, to pull out his hair, to tear someone to pieces. Anybody else could have identified that feeling for him- frustration, but there was no one here to tell him. In his whole time of existence, he had never felt anything like that, because he had never encountered something that he tried and tried to succeed in, but always failed. He had never encountered something that he didn't know how to destroy.

**A/N**: Okay, an explanation. Last update was the morning of a really huge history exam, and I was in a state of panic and not thinking very clearly. In addition, it was also my response (sort of) to all the people who stick random Japanese words all over the place for no reason at all. It's b'ashkara annoying! What I actually wrote there isn't really important, b/c I didn't say anything incredibly profound, but I do have a few comments. About the 'Atem' thing, for example. It's actually quite funny, b/c 'atem' translates as 'you' in plural, which was why I had a good laugh when I heard that that was his name! It sounds like he's schizophrenic! On the same note, 'aten' is the plural 'you' for females, and 'hem' is plural 3rd person, 'kulanu' is 'all of us', etc. If anybody is interested in a literal translation, tell me. One more thing- do you know that the translation of 'Ishimoto' would be, literally, 'man-with-car'? Ish=man, im=with, oto=car.


	23. Memory

Thanks SOOOO much to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate it, and it really encourages me. I even worked hard- today's chappie is longer than usual. And finally, the Memory Arc is starting! I've been waiting for this for ages! (You have no idea how much research I've been doing…and still have to do…). I'm going to try to update now more often than every two weeks, so look for it.

**Kerei** **Kitsune**- Actually, I like history. I even took an additional class in it this year. But the exams really do suck.

**Zircon**- Thanks so much! That's really nice of you.

**Gojen**- Thanks to you too!

**Silvershadowfire**- I loved your review! Thank you so much for going through the whole thing, I was glad to hear your opinions on everything. About your question. Another reason they go off to Egypt is that aside from going on a life-long crusade to destroy youkai, there isn't really much they can do about the situation in Japan, or in the rest of the world. And believe me; I'm definitely taking this idea all the way through 'till the end. About Yugi- I actually have nothing against him, but I do rather dislike his yami. I've been trying not to let it influence my writing. I've been trying to think of something special for him, but here's my problem: for Ryou it was obvious, and the story's about him anyway. With Malik, I only got the idea to have him become a priest some time after I wrote the chapter where I tortured him, but it occurred to me that it's an accepted idea in fantasy that large amounts of a kind of energy blasted at a person can awaken the same type of energy in them, that probably wouldn't have awakened otherwise. And the thing with the Shikon shard was b/c we've already seen that they can be used to support life, and it really fit. Yugi is a lot more absorbed in the Egyptian magic than either Malik or Ryou, 'cause he has the Pharaoh as his yami, so I tend to see him more in the direction of Egyptian magic than Japanese magic. Since we're only now coming into the Egyptian part of the fic, I'll have to see how things turn out, but Yugi will definitely be getting a bigger role. Any ideas are welcomed, though!

**Mahaad**- Thank you!

**Memory**

The end of the fourteen hour flight to Paris found everybody dead tired, bored, and with a three hour stop and a four hour flight still ahead of them. They all stumbled through the airport, ignoring the strange looks they were getting from the French all around, until they situated themselves in a large room in which they could wait out those three hours.

"Look at this airport!" Joey said waving his arms extravagantly as they wandered through the dark-green carpeted halls with large windows, wide hallways, artificial potted plants along the walls, and large well-lit rooms and lounges. "Not even similar to the one in Tokyo!" The Tokyo airport was completely different, with its sleek, futuristic look, the materials being mostly metal, vinyl and white plastic.

"At least in the Domino Airport we don't have to worry about getting lost," Tristan said. "Here we also have to take these subway thingies to different places. And I can't tell what any of the signs are saying!"

"They're not all in French, you know," Ryou sighed, "things are written in English too."

"Who knows English?" Joey wondered.

"We only learn it in school," Tea retorted. "Just because you hardly ever come to school, and when you _do_ you don't listen in class…"

"How about if we save this argument for later and just get where we're going so we can get some sleep?" Yugi suggested.

"It's barely three hours," Tristan grumbled, "hardly time to even close our eyes."

Nonetheless, the whole group finally got a move on, and a few moving-walkway and train rides later they reached their destination. Most of them made an immediate beeline for the plush benches and flopped down upon them, with a few notable exceptions. Kagome didn't lie down, but elected to snooze while sitting up, Rishid chose a bench where he could maintain a vigil near Malik, and Susan pulled out a book and began to read.

The excitement on the plane was great as they finally began their descent into Egypt. It was a relief to know that they would finally be able to finish with flying and go sleep in a regular bed. Yugi looked out the window while chewing his gum, trying to see if he could identify and landmarks, such as pyramids. Tea had once again distributed gum from her stash, to prevent them from getting "bubbles" in their ears during landing. He could feel his yami at the back of his mind, marveling at how Egypt looked from the air.

_That's right_, Yugi thought at his yami, _you've never seen __Egypt__ from this point of view before, have you?_

_It's interesting_, was his yami's response. _Everything looks so much smaller and more insignificant._ He wasn't sure that he liked seeing the majestic pyramids as tiny blobs below them. In addition, he wasn't sure he liked hanging way up in the air with nothing visible holding him up, but after more than fourteen hours of doing it he had stopped worrying about spontaneously dropping towards the ground.

_I love the view from an airplane_, Yugi said. _The world is such a beautiful place, really. It makes me happy to be a part of it. When you think about it, the world is a wonderful place on its own; only humans think that they improve on it so much. Humans are awfully arrogant, have you noticed?_

His yami didn't answer, but mulled over it. It was at times like this when he noticed how different the mentality of a former king and the mentality of other people (such as his hikari) differed. He had always been proud of great achievements, of his own and of his ancestors, but he didn't have much free time to spend admiring nature. He had never even had a chance to leave Egypt, until he had woken up inside Yugi's mind. It occurred to him that maybe the present, despite its many flaws, did have some advantages over the past. There was a greater awareness of the world in general, more looking at the 'big picture' than there had once been. In his time, he knew he had to look out only for Egypt, and not worry about anything else (such as this 'global warming' issue that seemed to bother people of this time period very much). Though he'd never admit it to anybody, he found the present rather intimidating. Life had become so complicated; it took people more than twelve years just to learn the basics of living in the world. Sometimes he would look through Yug's study books, and he had to confess he found them daunting. He didn't understand when it had become necessary to learn about the diet of monkeys and other strange animals, or how to build a bridge, or any of the other strange things they learned in schools nowadays. If Yugi wasn't planning on being a bridge-builder or a zoologist, why did he have to learn these things? In ancient times, people only learned what they needed directly to survive. Though he'd never even hint at it, he was jealous of the Tombrobber who was taking to modern life like a camel to the desert; it would be easy to take him as a native to this time period. The yami sighed. At the back of his mind he couldn't help but wonder if it wouldn't have been better to just leave well enough alone, and concentrate on the present instead of resurrecting the past again. But he couldn't help it – he desperately _needed_ to know what had happened to him, what his past was, who his family was. The question was where the past would lead him.

The first impression Ryou got of Egypt as he descended the steps from the airplane to the ground from which a special bus would take the passengers to the main airport building, was of heat. They had arrived in late afternoon, but before the sun was even close to setting, and the heat was enormous. It beat down from the sky on top of them, and was radiated back at them from the ground. The sun was bright, and the air was light and dry, and carried strange smells. Malik's light midriff shirt was starting to look extremely attractive right about now.

_Well gee, it's the middle of the summer_, came his yami's voice. _Of course it's going to be hot. But really, it's not that hot. It's just because you've been in an air-conditioned plane for the past four hours._

They all got into the air-conditioned bus thankfully, and into the airport afterwards. This airport was smaller than the one in France, but still a respectable size. The lack of sleep and six hour time difference was finally catching up to them, and they grew clumsier as they stumbled through the airport on the way to Baggage Claim, and finally out to where they could rent a taxi. None of the taxis were large enough to hold their nine-person group, so they split up into two, with Malik and Rishid providing directions to their hotel in Arabic.

Upon reaching their hotel they split into room pretty much randomly, except for making sure that Tea, Kagome, and Susan had a room to themselves. Joey, Ryou and Tristan ended up in one room, with Yugi, Malik and Rishid in the other. Upon consideration, maybe this wasn't the best of ideas. In the first room, Ryu was keeping up a constant litany of complaint at being stuck with Spike and the mutt.

_Couldn't you have roomed with Malik? At least he doesn't make an infernal mess! And he's not an idiot like these cheerleaders! _

_So, the truth is finally revealed! You _do_ like Malik!_ Ryou crowed. _You'd prefer to be in the same room as him! So much for calling him a dumb blonde all the time…_

_I do NOT love him! _his yami practically shrieked.

_Silly, I didn't mean, well, like-like, I just meant regular-friendly like! _Ryou laughed.

_I never insinuated anything like that_, Ryu retorted. _He's just less stupid than your_ other_ friends_.

_Why don't we mosey off to his room so you can express your appreciation of him to his face?_

_Shut uuuuup_, Ryu growled.

_I'm sure he'll love to hear that!_ Ryou said enthusiastically, completely ignoring his yami. _I mean, I know you guys are such great friends, even though you persist in insulting each other all the time…_

Ryu sighed. There was no winning against Ryou when he was hyperactive from lack of sleep. _Go to sleep, stupid. Talk to me when you're coherent_.

Ryou slept much less than he thought he would, probably because of the excitement. He woke up feeling slightly light-headed, but completely focused. He pulled out some clothes, a plain t-shirt and wide pants, got dressed and woke up his roommates.

They ate breakfast at the hotel's restaurant, and were rather surprised at what they found. There was a large buffet along one wall, where platters of different kinds of cheeses, salads, and fruits were arranged. There were also eggs, and a kind of soft, round, flat bread called pita. Small containers of olive oil and vinegar were placed around for flavoring some of the salads.

_No meat?_ Ryu sounded completely devastated. _We're supposed to eat this rabbit food? Are they trying to starve us?!_

_There's plenty of food here,_ Ryou retorted, _and besides, trying some new stuff won't hurt_.

After breakfast, where the Japanese members of the group either ate or didn't eat (whichever they found preferable), they got together to call a few taxis to take them to the Egyptian museum of Cairo where Isis currently had her exhibit. Malik had attempted to sneak off right after breakfast, but was dragged back by Rishid, and finally agreed sullenly to come with them to the museum. Susan had debated for a while whether it was worth going to the museum, too. She understood their purpose was retrieving the memories of the two spirits of the group, and she wasn't sure it would be all that interesting; she would much rather go look at the pyramids, which she had never been to. On the other hand, her purpose in coming was to make sure no rash decisions about the Shikon shards were made, so she concluded that it would be better to stick with the group. She could always come back to Egypt some other time.

Once again, it took three taxis to get them to the museum. The view out the window was different from what most of them were familiar with. There were many modern buildings and skyscrapers, but in between were tall palm trees silhouetted against the sky, which was a paler blue than they were used to. Every once in a while they could see small houses built in the low, square style that was once common in the Middle-East. The section of the city they were currently driving through was the new, modern section, but from streets to the side they could occasionally see old mosques, and the tan buildings of the other parts of the city. Even in this part, there were plenty of buildings build like old-time palaces. Despite the greenery planted around, sand still blew around and collected in every niche and groove in the streets. In the hotel, they had been told to keep the windows closed, to keep the dust out. Ryou had expected everybody to be dark, like Malik, but the sheer amount of tourists walking around in brightly-colored tasteless clothes rather ruined the effect. Finally, they pulled up in the parking lot of the museum. It was a reddish building with a rectangular façade, with a long strip of grass and a few dekel trees in front. The entrance was through a large arch in between tall pillars, and led to the entry hall of the museum. Isis met them there, greeting everyone with a smile and her younger brother with a hug. As they followed her through the museum, they saw many fascinating things. Ryou wished he could spend quite a bit more time just looking through the museum, but now they had more important things to do. Finally they reached their destination – the Memory Tablet, with its engravings of the God Cards and a battle between Yami Yugi and his priest. Everybody moved aside as Yami Yugi stepped forward, taking the three God Cards out of his deck. Everybody, that is, except Yami Bakura. Yami Yugi shot a glare at him. "What do you think you're doing, Tombrobber?"

Yami Bakura only crossed his arms. "My memories are sealed away, too. You're not the only one on this planet, you know, stupid Pharaoh." He inspected his fingernails arrogantly. "Go ahead, don't let_ me_ bother you."

Yami Yugi glared for a minute, then turned back to the tablet with a huff. He raised the three God Cards in front of his face. Almost immediately, there was a flash of gold light, which nearly blinded everyone. When the light dimmed, they all immediately looked back towards the two spirits, who were still standing there, slightly baffled looks on their faces.

"Was something supposed to happen?" Joey wondered, just as both the Pharaoh's and the Tombrobber's eyes rolled up in their heads, and they both collapsed to the ground.

Gasps were heard from the rest of the group and a shriek from Tea, as they all rushed to the two fallen teens.

"They're both breathing," Isis said immediately, while Kagome checked their pulse.

"Their eyes are moving," Susan observed, "almost like when a person is dreaming…"

"Maybe they're dreaming the memories," Tristan said.

"More like fast-forwarding the memories," Malik retorted. "Just plain dreaming them would take too long."

"Isis, is there any place we can take them?" Tea asked worridly. "I mean, it looks rather weird to have two guys lying on the floor twitching in the middle of a museum, and we don't even know how long this might take!"

Since neither Ryou nor Yugi showed a sign of taking over yet, they decided to take the comatose boys to one of the nearby staff rooms. Isis made herself and Susan cups of coffee (Kagome didn't want any). The younger members of the group settled themselves around the room, occasionally looking towards the two "dreamers", who had been laid crosswise on a few chairs.

After about fifteen minutes, Yugi sat up with a small groan. "What happened?"

"Your yami and Ryou's yami are getting their memories back," Joey proceeded to explain what they had surmised. "Tell us when your yami wakes up, okay?"

Not long after, Ryou woke up as well, and had the situation explained to him.

"Well, let's go do something!" Tristan suggested. "It's not like we need to sit here all day waiting! Let's explore the museum."

The idea was greeted with enthusiasm, and they all started arguing about where they wanted to go the most, except for Malik, who slunk away in the confusion.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Pharaoh sat on his throne, his six priests ranged about him, as he watched the soldiers bring in the criminal.

"He is a thief and a murderer," one of the soldiers reported, bowing to his superiors. "He has stolen many times."

The Pharaoh nodded gravely, and on of his priests stepped forward. He raised his hand, and drew up from his chest a golden ankh-shaped pendant – the Millennium Ankh. The Item glowed, as the priest used it to look into the soul of the person before them, who was struggling in the grasp of his captors. Finally, the priest turned back to his Pharaoh. "There is a monster in his soul, which is creating the evil within him." He stepped back, and another priest took his place. This one, the bearer of the Millennium Eye, used the power of his Item to draw the evil spirit out of the man. A large monster took form, with a grotesque skull-like head and six arms, which the bearer of the Millennium Rod immediately sealed into a tablet. The man slumped in the arms of the soldiers, who immediately began to drag him away from the throne room. Any sense of triumph was forestalled by a commotion at the door. The guards seemed to be trying to keep someone out, but immediately were shoved outwards, many collapsing with large, bleeding gashed in their torsos. The perpetrator of the deed moved in unmolested, advancing arrogantly towards the throne. He had a shock of ragged white hair on his head that partially covered his face, which was adorned with three scars criss-crossing just below the right eye. What infuriated the priests even more than his actions at the entrance did were the many, obviously stolen, articles of expensive jewelry on his neck, arms and legs, contrasting with the long red coat on his body.

"You are the Tombrobber – Ji, Jian," the priest with the Millennium Rod began angrily, only to become angrier at his inability to pronounce the foreign name properly.

"Jiang," the Tombrobber corrected with a superior smile. "Yes, you are correct. I'm quite impressed by your level of perception."

The priest's face darkened in anger, but any reaction was forestalled by the Pharaoh, who had risen from his throne.

"Have you no shame?" he cried in anger, "to enter here wearing what you have stolen from the tombs of the dead?"

"Not just any dead, actually," Jiang commented, "it was your father's tomb. Nice stuff, I must say."

"Pharaoh, let us deal with him," the priest Seth growled, and on the Pharaoh's nod, motioned Akunadin forward. The Millennium Eye glowed, and the Tombrobber watched the proceedings with amusement.

"You think that you can actually seal away my ka?" he laughed. "Go ahead and try."

The priests watched as Akunadin struggled to draw out the ka. A shadow was growing around the Tombrobber's body, constantly shifting and struggling, as if trying to break free.

Akunadin stared in surprise at the monster. He had never seen anything like it! It didn't seem to have a solid form, but was only a large black shadow, roughly shaped like a canine. Its constant shifting made it almost impossible to see, as it blended into the shadows all around. Seth raised his Millennium Rod and tried to capture it and seal it into a tablet, but found to his surprise that he seemed unable to grasp the shadowy form.

Jiang finally got tired of this, and returned his ka back to its place inside his body. "Now that we're done with that little exhibition, can we get down to business?"

**A/N:** Bleah, I'm completely exhausted 'cause today is a fast day and we're nearing the end of the fast and I'm already slightly dizzy and…whatever. Need…drink…food…


	24. The Sand Vipers

**A Neo Okami Named Wolfy**: Thank you!  Your review really cheered me up, I think I got it about 10 minutes after I posted the chapter!

**Zircon**: Well, my friend once said "the whole world is on my butt". Maybe they're related?

**Silvershadowfire**: Thanks for telling me. The reason I wrote that a Pharaoh would wear that was because I really wasn't sure, and because it seems like an awfully stupid thing for a wanderer to wear. I looked at a bunch of pictures of it, and there doesn't seem to be any good way to close it and keep it shut, which means it would be of squat use in a sandstorm. It also looks awfully heavy, which would be hot. It just doesn't seem very practical. But I went back and changed the last chapter. You'll have to wait a little longer to find out the shtick with the name, though.

**Kerei Kitsune**: See, I updated!****

**LunarDaughter**: Well, when you get here, thanks a lot for the reviews! I'm glad you like.

In this chapter, thanks to my mom, my dad (who proofread), Jonathan (who helped me in general), and especially Miriam, without whom this whole part of the story would be looking completely different, and probably a lot worse.

**The Sand Vipers**

"Now that we're done with that little exhibition," Jiang said patronizingly, "can we get down to business?" He purposely ignored the increasing animosity directed towards him by the Pharaoh and his priests.

"Business?" the bearer of the Millennium Scales, Karim said furiously. "What business do you think we would have with you, blasphemer of the Gods?!"

"I have come to claim what is rightfully mine," Jiang responded. "Of course, some of you might not know what I'm talking about," he added, "maybe Akunadin would care to enlighten you?"

Immediately, all attention turned to the priest named. Akunadin looked slightly startled, and angry. "How dare you address me like a common man. I have no idea what you are talking about," he retorted, "I have no truck with tomb robbers!"

Senile old fool, Jiang thought to himself. "Akunadin, I demand today the payment you promised me twenty years ago. I choose the Millennium Ring."

For a moment, there was a stunned silence, as the Pharaoh and his priests struggled to comprehend the enormity of what this- this _tombrobber_ was demanding. They were so shocked that it took them a moment to digest the idea. Never had someone so obviously evil dared to brazenly come up and demand a Millennium Item, as if he had a right to it!

"You should be killed just for presuming to come in here and make such demands!" Seth roared, gripping his Millennium Item tighter.

Jiang frowned. "I have every right to come in here and demand my payment! I see that your faithful Akunadin did not tell you what happened when I met him last, twenty years ago, when he set out to create the Millennium Items."

Realization set in, as Akunadin's face paled and took on an expression of recognition. "You cannot be him!" he cried out. "You look no older than twenty years old, the same age as that man was when I met him. That was twenty years ago! The gods have blessed me and given me a long life span, but that even was twenty years ago. He would be an old man by now, probably dead!"

"Well, I'm not," Jiang said impatiently, tapping his foot on the floor.

"Akunadin," the Pharaoh spoke, "what is the meaning of this?"

Akunadin turned to find his Pharaoh and fellow priests all watching him expectantly. He took a breath, and began. "As you know, the Millennium Items were created during the reign of your father, the pharaoh Akunamukanon, during the war. He sent me with the book of Millennium Magic, which we had just finished deciphering, to create the Millennium Items to aid us in the war. On the way we met a man, who admittedly looked much like this one, who offered his help in creating the Items- without which they might not have been created successfully. As payment, he demanded to receive one of the items."

"See?" Jiang said. Actually, it had been rather stupid of him to only remember about this twenty years down the line, but he had been very busy with the campaign in Nubia, and then fighting for the Babylonians, and with all the excitement he had forgotten about his enterprise in Egypt.

"We have no proof that you are indeed the one who made the agreement with Akunadin," Seth said angrily.

Jiang glowered at the priests, Seth in particular. True, he hadn't expected them to just hand over the Millennium Item, but they were being unnecessarily difficult. He easily recognized Akunadin, even though twenty years had passed, and he knew Akunadin now recognized him as well. He vocalized these thoughts, but neither the priests nor the Pharaoh seemed impressed. Obviously, they were going to use this 'lack' of knowledge to keep their Items to themselves.

"The name of Jiang's mercenary troop is known far and wide, and has been for almost twenty-five years. I give you my word as their leader that what I'm demanding is only my right. Besides," he snorted, "do you honestly think I would cook up such a crazy story out of nothing?"

Indeed, it was not often that people showed up randomly in the Pharaoh's court claiming one of the Millennium Items belonged to them.

The Pharaoh stood up. "Even if your claim is true, the crimes you have committed against the Gods and against this country can not be overlooked. The tomb robbing activities you have indulged in, in the years since you have returned to Egypt," his tone made it obvious this return was completely unwanted, "have rendered you unworthy of even standing in our presence! Leave us now, and be thankful we are not claiming your life at this time as well."

Jiang growled in annoyance. Fine, so he had stolen from some (read: many) of their tombs in the years since he had returned from fighting with the Assyrians, but in this case, he was only demanding what was his by right. "Very well," he said, keeping a sardonic smile on his face. "I'll leave, but wait and see- if you will not give me what is rightfully mine, I'll just take it from you!" He turned on his heel, calling over his shoulder, "On second thought, _I'll take them all_!"  

However, this would probably make more sense, if we skip further back in history, to the reign of the Pharaoh Akunamukanon, in the thick of the war between Egypt and Nubia.

The silence of the desert night was disturbed only by the muffled thuds of horses' hoofs against the sand. The night was clear and cold with hardly any moon at all, which allowed the troop to travel freely, though they kept a sharp lookout; if _they_ could travel quickly, others would be out this night as well. They rode in squads, divided according to their fighting units, in case of attack, leaving small distances between the groups. Five scouts on fast horses ranged ahead, while their rear was guarded by an additional five. They rode south-westward, hoping to reach their destination, a village in a fairly large oasis, before dawn and before the Nubians arrived. They were the band of mercenaries known as the Sand Vipers, one of the most well-known mercenary companies, with skilled fighters, good horses, and intelligent officers. Their captain was a foreigner named Jiang, who had almost legendary fighting skills.

A rapid pounding of hooves heralded the return of one of the scouts, with the other seen in the distance. The captain noticed rode up to them immediately. Hori, the first scout to return, reined in his horse quickly.

"Report," Jiang snapped.

"We're lost!" Hori cried, sounding almost panicked. The rest of the mercenaries started to gather around, and murmurings of questions started to circle.

"Calm down," Jiang said, "and think rationally. We can't be lost. This is exactly the right direction –look at the stars."

The other scout rode up meanwhile, the other mercs clearing a way to their captain. He too bore a look of worry on his face. "There's a river!" he blurted out, without preamble.

Jiang would have laughed, if they hadn't looked so genuinely worried. This was Egypt, other than the Nile, which they had left behind them a while ago, there were no rivers.

"That's ridiculous!" scoffed Nensela, one of the lieutenants. "There can't be a river here; this is Egypt we're talking about!"

"You think we don't know that?" said Hori, starting to get annoyed. Nensela was a good lieutenant and an excellent archer, but she had a tendency to get on people's nerves.

"Get moving," Jiang said, coming to a decision, "we'll go see this river for ourselves."

The mercenaries once again spread out, as they rode in the direction the scouts had indicated. They crested a rise, and began a descent into the depression where the river flowed, for there was no other name to give this dark, wide line flowing slightly eastward. The sturdy horses began getting fidgety the closer they got to the water, and required coaxing to move forward. Jiang managed to urge his lean black stallion, Scorpion, closest to the water, but what he saw made him startle and pull back, causing Scorpion to rear and shy backwards. "Good God-!"

Similar cries of consternation from other mercenaries were heard, as they too realized what they were seeing. "It's sand!" "Dear Ra, there's rocks flowing along in there!" "Captain, what do we do?!"

Jiang ignored them and dismounted. They had to continue in their south-westerly direction in order to reach the oasis, which meant this 'river', or whatever it was, had to be crossed. Cautiously he advanced toward the bank, only to leap back as the sand started roiling and spitting rocks at him. He took several deep breaths to steel himself before trying again, only to meet with the same result. Shaken, he got back on his horse, and quickly wheeled him around. "Move!" he shouted to his mercs. "We're going back, until we can't see the river any more!"

"But we have to get to Bek," another one of his lieutenants, Dakka, said hesitating.

"We're not staying by this cursed river another moment!" Jiang snarled. "I don't know where it came from, or what's on the other side, but you can bet it's not Bek!" he gestured at the river, indicating the thick darkness that seemed to roil on the other side over a flat, featureless plain. "Now get a move on! And don't look back!"

They didn't need a second urging, as they wheeled their horses and began a rapid retreat from the strange hollow. Once they reached the higher desert again, they finally stopped, and Jiang turned his horse around apprehensively, to take one last look at the river. All he saw were the flowing shapes of dunes, with dark rocks sticking up to the south. There was no trace of there ever having been a river there.

"It's gone!" Nensela said in wonder.

Jiang only grunted, and waved at his troops to continue in the direction they had originally been going. Inwardly, he cursed as he realized that this little mess had cost them valuable time, and the chances of them arriving in Bek before the Nubians had just slimmed considerably. If they were lucky, they might arrive there before the oasis was completely taken over.

The Sand Vipers reached Bek in early morning, in time for the scouts to quickly establish that the battle for the oasis had already begun. Despite their full-night ride, they were all alert and prepared for battle. Jiang immediately ordered them to split into squads, to spread out through the village. At least they had arrived before the small Egyptian garrison in the town had lost too much ground, so they wouldn't have to re-conquer the village from scratch. They were divided into five fifteen-man squads, with another squad consisting only of the twenty-five archers under Nensela's command.  

"Khaleme, you go help out the garrison at the south," Jiang commanded. "Nensela, you go with him." The two lieutenants immediately left with their squads. "Dakka, you and I are cleaning up door-to-door. Iteti, you're rear guard. Now go!" Jiang wheeled Scorpion and began galloping through the streets, towards where the Nubians had already begun slaughtering the people. They were fighting a pitched battle with the garrison at the south side of town, while other troops had penetrated the town to get rid of the locals. In this case, slaves would be of no use to them as they didn't have any way to keep them under control, so they simply opted for killing them all. Unlike some commanders, Jiang himself led a squad into the thick of battle. His main reason for starting this band of mercenaries had been his love for fighting. In the years he had commanded the Sand Vipers he had proven himself many times, and had the full loyalty of his soldiers.

In door-to-door fighting, archers were of little to no use on horseback, which was why he had sent them to fight with the garrison; there was nowhere to keep the horses safe if they were to fight on foot. Jiang charged into the thick of battle, drawing his long, slightly curved sword. With one strike he severed the spinal cord of a soldier attacking a woman in a doorway, causing him to collapse and shortly be trampled. Two soldiers rose suddenly in front of him, wielding scimitars; Scorpion reared, knocking one down with his front hooves and smashing in his chest, while Jiang ran his sword through the other one's neck, pulling back quickly to avoid the spurt of blood. By now, more soldiers were coming, some carrying pikes and spears. The element of surprise was gone now, and a pikeman could do severe damage to a horse, causing a rider to be crushed under his own animal. Jiang swung off Scorpion, to confront the new soldiers on foot, while Scorpion continued to guard his back. Scorpion was a specially trained war horse, and they had been fighting together for several years now, making them an excellent team. Jiang now pulled out a short sword for his left hand, and grinned ferally as the familiar bloodlust began to take hold of him. He parried all the attacks aimed at him, hardly sustaining any blows, his weapons weaving intricate, deadly patterns as he slashed and chopped at his enemies. Scorpion was constantly behind him, crushing arms, legs, heads, under his sharp hooves, biting, and bowling over enemies. Jiang was constantly moving down the street, to keep from slipping on the blood or other liquids lying in pools in the sand, or from tripping over bodies. He fought with a single-minded excitement, hardly aware of his mercenaries fighting around him, living only in the endless moment of parrying and striking, mingled sweat and blood running down his arms and face. The Sand Vipers advanced through the streets, clearing away the Nubian soldiers, leaving a trail of dead and wounded behind them. Eventually, the soldiers coming against them grew fewer and fewer. Jiang remounted, dispatching several more on the way, and finally called his mercs to regroup at a crossroads near the pitched battle at the southern edge of the town. A quick count showed they had suffered no fatalities, though they had several wounded. Dakka sent a messenger to report one death, but no serious wounds.

Several hours later found them spread among the populace, getting their wounds treated. Nensela and Khaleme had arrived in time to turn the tide of the battle in the south, and had won there too. Jiang was now sitting and drinking beer, his mind pleasantly blank for the meantime. He had suffered many minor scratches and bruises, which he knew would heal in no time. In addition, he had a long gash on his arm, which was shallow but rather painful, and a deeper cut on his back. So far, their orders had been to make sure Bek was safe, and if possible, advance southward. Jiang knew that they were near the front lines of battle between Egypt and the areas already conquered by Nubia. He listened with half an ear to his lieutenants who were also sitting in this house, discussing the strange river from that morning. Battles they had seen many of, but it wasn't every day that rivers flowing sand and rock showed up and then vanished.

"_Somebody_'s got to know about it," Dakka said pragmatically. "If something so strange exists, there has to be some legend about it somewhere. The only hard part is finding it."

"Well, _I'd_ like to know what was on the other side," Nensela said. "Do you think it was there to keep people out, or to keep something in? Or both?"

What does it matter? Jiang thought to himself. They probably would never see the damned thing ever again. For all they knew, its only purpose in existing had been to make them late to arrive at Bek, though for what purpose he wasn't sure. But still, he could understand what his lieutenants were getting at; he too felt the call to explore the land beyond the river, to find out what was waiting there. It seemed like a dark, strange place, but it was almost begging to be explored. Jiang finished his beer and went to curl up in his blanket on the floor, wondering at the back of his mind if he would ever encounter the river again, but resolving to forget about it.

Two days later a hurried messenger from the rest of the army arrived, informing them of the losses it had suffered. Consequently, they would have to evacuate Bek immediately, or be in danger of getting swallowed behind the rapidly advancing enemy lines. Jiang cursed loudly and stomped away, complaining about incompetent armies under incompetent commanders, and that he had lost good men for no reason. Khaleme took over, used to their white-haired leader's outbursts, and the mercs were shortly ready to go. The organizing of the townsfolk was left to the Egyptian army units in the town.

**A/N:** First of all, I tried to keep all this stuff accurate, but if you see any mistakes don't hesitate to point them out! Also, there won't be any updates for about three weeks, because I'm going to Spain with my family (Sorry! Please don't hurt me!). I also wanted to as you all, if you don't mind, to take a look at my new story, 'Frankenstein's Monster' (has nothing to do with Frankenstein). I really need some feedback on it!


	25. The Warmonger

Yay! I'm back from Spain! Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I'm not going to post any responses here, I'll just get on with the chapter. And thanks to SeventhDaughter who finally got her act together and got around to proofreading this. _SeventhDaughter__ cowers under T.K's baleful glare._

**The Warmonger**

They spent the rest of the day sightseeing around Cairo. After seeing as much of the museum as they could absorb without their brains overloading, they left, with Isis offering to show them some different interesting things to see in Cairo. They walked up and down the Khan el-Khalili souk, where gold, silver, carpets, bronze, blown glass, crystal and many more things were being enthusiastically sold and bought. Susan bought herself a bottle of perfume, and convinced Kagome to do the same. Later on they went to the Camel Market. Joey came to the conclusion that camels were just as nasty, if not worse than youkai.

"At least youkai don't spit in your eyes!" he complained loudly, "I swear, it was _aiming_ at me!"

Wandering around Cairo, it was easy to forget what was going on in the rest of the world. In Egypt there had been almost no sightings of demons, and nothing coming close to the killing and mauling going on in the rest of the world. The general mood was fairly carefree, and if it weren't for little things like the demons and priests accompanying them for example, the gang might have been tempted to forget about what was going on in the rest of the world. Here, everything was safe and normal, which was a great relief (at least for _most _of them).

In the evening it cooled down, making walking around quite comfortable. Despite this, they didn't stay out very late. In the hotel they all crowded into Yugi's room (which seemed larger for some reason, even though it probably was no bigger than the rest) to watch some TV. Most of the channels were in Arabic, but there were some things in English as well, though nothing more interesting than the news; so that was what they watched. There were reports of all sorts of boring political meetings in Europe, but just as Tristan was about to turn it off, talk turned to the spreading phenomenon of demons. They had infested almost all of Japan already and spread to China; Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and northern Australia were being plagued by them; Vietnam, Burma, Bangladesh, Thailand, and parts of India. Half of Mongolia, though Russia only had problems along a few of her more eastern borders. Apparently, there was a connection between the number of humans in the area and the speed of youkai spreading. Accusations had been laid at Japan's doorstep, of a biological weapon gone wrong for example, but several mikos had straightened things out. Now countries were almost panicking, deploying armies to the streets, increasing security, initiating curfews, in attempts to protect their citizens. Then talk moved to the killings, giving the known statistics for each country. At this point, Yugi got up and left, unable to bear listening. He went out on to the balcony, where Ryou had gone before.

"Hey, Yugi," Ryou greeted him. "Why'd you leave?"

"I didn't want to listen to them saying how many people were being hurt and killed," Yugi said sadly. "Ryou, do you think this is our fault?" The thought had been weighing on his mind for a while now, ever since the trouble had started.

"Until recently, we didn't even know what a Shikon Shard was," Ryou said. "Nobody can blame us for anything."

"But, maybe there was something we could have done differently," Yugi said worriedly. "Even now, maybe there's something we should be doing to help."

"We couldn't have changed anything," Ryou said pragmatically. "All this began several thousand years before we were born. The question is, how much of what's happening now is still dependent on the past? We know that there's the whole prophecy thing, but how far into the future does it extend? I think that by figuring out once and for all what happened in the past, we'll know what to do in the future."

Yugi accepted Ryou's explanation, but was not completely satisfied by it. Sightseeing in Egypt while people around the world were being killed seemed very wrong to him. Everything was so much simpler when the world's problems could be solved by a card game. Now it was bigger than them, and being played out on a worldwide scale. How could any of them possibly do anything?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The war was not going well for Egypt. They were taking heavy losses, and constantly being forced northward by the Nubians, a situation which left Jiang deeply disgusted. He disliked suicide missions with a passion, and if Egypt continued this way, that's what this job would turn out to be. If they surrendered, they might be conscripted, with all their valuables taken (like the horses, specially trained for war), or just killed outright. On the other hand, if they continued fighting, the chances of them surviving were slim to none; they would probably go down with the rest of Egypt's army. Deserting was an option, but then they would have to give up on the rest of their pay, and such a move would do severe damage to their reputation; no one wanted to hire mercenaries who would vanish into the desert when the going got tough. All this left one option: take matters into his _own_ hands.

Needless to say, none of his lieutenants were very enthusiastic about the idea of their Captain vanishing for an unknown period of time in the middle of a war. Jiang ignored them. He quickly packed the few things he would need for the trip on Scorpion's back, and set off, telling his troops to expect him when they saw him and not before. They accepted this with resignation, but made no more attempts to stop him. It wasn't like this was the first time their strange captain had pulled a stunt like this, and they trusted him to return at some point. They didn't believe there was anything on this side of the sea that could kill him.

Jiang left at night, already feeling the relief of freedom. In a sense, he hadn't really wanted to become the leader of the Sand Vipers – he wasn't even sure _how_ it had happened.

The furthest back he could remember was about twenty years ago, when he had woken up in the back of a Chinese trading caravan, with no memory of who he was or where he came from, except for an insistent drive to get as far away from there as possible. His only possessions were the tattered clothes on his body, and a small cloth sack containing seven pink shards of what seemed to be glass. He had been found washed up on the banks of a river, so the people who took him in named him 'Jiang' – river. Upon discovering that he had no identity other than 'Jiang', he had no reason not to hang around with the caravan. They mostly left him alone when he wanted to be alone (which was most of the time), and they provided food and shelter, and transportation in the direction he was going.

For the first week or so he just hung around trying to stay out of people's way, and relearned some of the basics of life he had forgotten. Soon the clan leader demanded that he either do his share of the work, or leave them. The caravan had no space for useless people. Jiang soon discovered he had a great affinity for fighting, and so joined the people in charge of protecting the caravan. This situation was ideally suited to his loner temperament, and marked the beginning of his career as a mercenary.

He continued as far west as the caravan went, then found another one that went further. Constantly driving him was the phrase _'protect them with your life'_, and the urge to get _away_ from where he was.

Somewhere along the way he met Dakka. Truthfully, he couldn't quite remember the circumstances. All he remembered was that they did some job together and it had worked out pretty well. The next morning Dakka had continued to tag along behind him, offering to stick around to watch Jiang's back. Jiang didn't really care one way or another, so he allowed the Kushite to stick around as long as he didn't get in the way. After that they kept meeting up with other people, some of which started tagging along with the crowd. Jiang only noticed when he woke up one morning to discover he had a camp of nearly fifty people following him.

"Where did all these people come from?" he demanded of Dakka.

"You know," he said with a small smile, "here and there."

"Well, what are they doing here?" Jiang said, frustrated.

"Waiting for you to tell them where we're going today."

Jiang had never thought of himself as much of a commander, preferring to be alone and have nobody else to worry about, but now that he was confronted with a growing crowd following him, he decided to get things in order. Finally he confronted them, bluntly explaining his thinking. "Look, I'm not quite sure why you all decided to follow me, but I guess that doesn't really matter. Truthfully, I'd be much happier on my own, but I do have to admit that it's easier getting jobs when we're a whole group, so I don't mind you guys hanging around. As long as you don't get in my way, I'm sure we'll get along fine. However, if we're already fighting together, it makes sense for us to just create a company, because the pay's better." Ultimately, they voted to create a mercenary company, with Jiang as captain. He complained loudly about this, saying he knew nothing about how to run a company and was clueless about strategy, but finally agreed when his new lieutenants assured him they'd help him deal with that stuff.

Much to everybody's surprise, the newly formed Sand Vipers were extremely successful. Jiang may not have been a great strategist, but he had a solid grasp of tactics and could be counted on to come up with completely crackpot plans and pull them off, too. Having grudgingly accepted responsibility for the welfare of his troops, he now did all he could to ensure it. In time, he even grew to rather enjoy fighting with a company.

Jiang was different from his mercenaries. Most mercs fought from necessity, hoping to one day have enough money to settle down and stop fighting. Jiang fought because he liked to fight.

The Sand Vipers became a popular Company to be part of, especially among women. Because of his amnesia, Jiang was largely unaffected by the stigmas of the day about women's place in life, and so applied the same rule to them as he did to everyone else: if they could hold their own and stay out of his way, they could stay. This didn't sit well with the male mercs, who would frequently molest the women in various ways. Jiang got wind of it, and made it very clear that he would tolerate no fighting within the company by making examples of several people.

Now, once again, he was off to make sure that he and his mercs would survive the war in the best way. He was heading to the capital city of Tel el-Amarna, following the rumors his contacts had relayed to him.

Jiang met up with one of his 'spies' in a shady tavern at the edge of the city. Most of what the guy had to tell him was useless information that he already knew (but was still expected to pay for), but there was one bit of information that seemed quite interesting.

"They say that the Priest Akunadin has finally finished translating some really powerful book of magic," the contact said, barely moving his lips. "It could mean the difference between victory and defeat for Egypt."

Jiang smirked slightly. Now _this_ was good news. "Where can I find one of the priests who helped with the translation?"

The contact told him, and Jiang soon left, leaving the fee. He made his way towards the richer part of the city, where the priests' quarters were. Sneaking around the tight security on the building would be hard, but not impossible. He waited until just after the sun went down, and then slowly started making his way over walls, past guards, through windows and down deserted corridors. Finally, he reached the chamber of one of the priests he knew had participated in the translation of the volume, who also happened to be an old acquaintance of his. He stepped stealthily into the room, and cleared his throat deliberately. The young priest jumped about a foot into the air before whirling around.

"Hello, Dua-Cheti," Jiang said conversationally.

"J-Jiang?" the priest stammered. "What are you doing here? How did you get in?"

"That's how you greet me? No 'hello'? Maybe invite me to drink something?" The priest seemed to be trying to come up with a proper response, but Jiang just waved his hand dismissively. "Never mind. I came to ask you something about a certain interesting book you've been helping to decipher lately. You finished yesterday, I believe?"

"It's not like I was really important," Dua-Cheti said uneasily. "I just helped with the basic stuff; I really don't know most of what was in there. Why?"

"I've discovered a great interest in magic lately. Could you tell me anything about it?"

"Jiang, I can't tell you! I'll be killed if I'm found out! Besides, what do you want to do with it?"

"Oh come on, haven't we known each other for a while now? Don't you _trust_ me?"

"No," the priest muttered.

Jiang continued, and finally managed to convince the reluctant Dua-Cheti to give him the basic information about the spells in the book, and then left immediately. For some reason, he knew that it wasn't going to work. For items of such great power to last long enough to be useful, or even to work properly without draining the magician to death they needed their own inner power source. He wasn't sure how he knew this, but he had already gotten used to random bits of information appearing in his head sometimes, which he assumed were from his previous life.

Once again Jiang set out on Scorpion, this time to go after this Akunadin Priest-guy, and make an arrangement with him. The items of power Akunadin was trying to create needed a power source. He knew that he could supply that source. The idea of parting with the shards brought him a pang, but he suppressed it. To him, the equation was simple. If Egypt got the items, then they could fight back effectively, which meant the war might continue for another five years or so, which would get him and his mercs enough pay to be able to slack off for a while, in addition to making sure that they were on the winning side. Jiang smirked to himself. When people said that mercenaries could change the outcome of wars, they had no idea how true that statement really was.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the Shadow Realm, one never got bored. One might lose his mind, or be terrified, or be fascinated by the endlessly roiling blackness, but never bored. Sometimes the one who was locked there wondered if being bored wouldn't be preferable. He had never thought that he – _he_, could be driven mad by the Chaos, but now he was beginning to think otherwise. A new thought had started in his mind, and was now rocketing through his thoughts without giving him peace. Why? Why did he hate? Why did he like destroying things and nobody else did? Why did he exist? Why was he asking himself all these questions all of a sudden?

He tried to come up with answers. He hated because he always hated, because hatred was what defined him, because he was created out of hatred. This produced a small niggling thought that plagued him even more. _You are nothing but a puppet. You are weak. You never even asked _why_ you did things, you just did them. No wonder you were defeated – only a person fighting for something they truly believe in will manage to follow their cause to the very end. _

Why had he never asked 'why' before this?


	26. KuruEruna

Man, people, sorry it took me so long! I kept on getting writer's block or something on this chapter. And school was in the way. So thanks to those of you who are sticking with me, and to whoever reviewed, and I'll try to be quicker next time!

**KuruEruna******

Malik returned to the hotel after midnight that night. Kagome was waiting up for him. One of the advantages of Malik being her boyfriend was that he could never sneak up on her; she could sense his corruption from even far away, and if not for that, his houshi powers would shine like a beacon to her honed senses. He saw her immediately and gave her a lopsided grin.

"You waited up for me again?"

Kagome gave him a disapproving look. His clothes were dirty and slightly torn, and there were several long scratches on his arms, which he hadn't bothered to bandage, and were dripping blood. "Why do you always persist in walking around looking like something the cat dragged in?" she shook her head in exasperation. "Come on, you need to get cleaned up."

Malik followed her into the bathroom, the self-satisfied smirk still tugging at the corner of his mouth. Kagome sat him down, and started working on his left arm.

"Well? Are you going to tell me what trouble you've gotten into today?"

"What's the point? It's not like you'll approve, anyway."

Kagome frowned at him. "That's because you always persist in behaving in ways that people don't approve of."

He looked up at her, shadows dancing in his lavender eyes. "My whole life, no matter what I did, I was never approved of. Now is no different; I just stopped trying, and I stopped caring."

A while ago, he probably wouldn't have said something like that, Kagome mused. She patted the last bandage on his cheek, admiring her handiwork. Malik smiled at her, before closing his eyes and leaning back so his head was against her stomach. She smiled fondly at him, absently playing with his flyaway hair. His expression slowly softened, losing its hardness and regaining some of the good humor she remembered.

"You make me feel…so good," he murmured. Lately, he felt driven. Intellectually, he knew that it was only because of the corruption, but he didn't actually _feel_ corrupted. He was just constantly restless. There were some days where he just didn't care about anything, and only the rush of a good, bloody fight could evoke any type of emotion. When he was around Kagome, though, he felt at peace.

Kagome never said anything, but she was slightly worried about the pace of the corruption. She had initially given him much more time until he would start feeling the effects, but it looked like it was going faster than that.

About ten minutes later, Malik finally got up and left for his room to get some sleep. Kagome shut the door behind him, abruptly feeling another presence near her.

"Can I ask you something?" Susan said quietly. Kagome turned towards the white-haired youkai. "Sure."

"How do the two of you work out? I thought…it just seems…isn't Ryu your son?" Susan wasn't sure how to phrase her question.

Kagome smiled slightly. "Yes, he is. We do have a rather weird relationship, don't we?" she added to herself. "I suppose the only reason it works is because we don't think of all the reasons it shouldn't."

(((((stupid website keeps on getting rid of my dividers. grrrr.)))))

Jiang left the scene of his confrontation with Akunadin priest-guy feeling quite self-satisfied. With the power sources he had given him, there was no way Egypt would lose the war. Now he and his troops were safe, and hopefully they'd be hired to do some fighting that would pay good cash.

It didn't quite work out that way.

After the creation of the Items, Egypt won the war in a matter of weeks. In the whole mess right after the end of the war, Khaleme was sent to pick up the rest of their pay, and by the time everything was organized and the wounded were taken care of, Jiang got everybody moving quickly towards Kush. Jiang was never one to care too much about the past, and now that he no longer had the shards bothering him they completely slipped his mind. They were added to the metal list of IOUs owed him, saved up for a rainy day.

Years passed, campaigns came and went. The Sand Vipers grew, and shrank, they lost some soldiers and gained others. Lieutenants were replaced. Some people left to settled down, some died. Jiang lived through the whirlwind of life in the eye of the storm, moving on but never being affected. Suddenly, however, even he started noticing how different he was from everybody else. Nensela left, and there were rumors that she had actually married and settled down. Khaleme was killed in battle. But the biggest shock came to Jiang when Dakka came to him to hand in his resignation.

"You're leaving?" he asked in shock. Dakka had been with him from the very beginning.

"I've grown old," Dakka said. "I can't fight like I used to anymore."

"But-"

"You haven't changed," Dakka continued thoughtfully. "I'm not quite sure why, but you're almost the same as the day I met you. Maybe it's true what the troops say, that you're 'unkillable'."

Jiang was silent, disbelieving. He could never remember actually being connected to somebody, but they had been together for so long…he knew he would miss his lieutenant. He sighed. "I'll miss you," he said slowly, almost emotionlessly.

Dakka smiled, touched by the (for Jiang) emotional reaction. Sometimes he had wondered whether Jiang actually cared, or even noticed him at all, but now he knew that he had been appreciated, in Jiang's strange way.

Times grew tough. It seemed that suddenly peace treaties were being struck all around, and in the places that wars were being fought, nobody wanted mercenaries. Jiang was unhappy; now he was forced to provide for his people, which violated his code of 'stay out of my way'. On the other hand, he didn't have the heart to just leave them. With their lousy financial situation, it wasn't surprising when Jiang got the brilliant idea to start tomb robbing. He didn't believe in the Egyptian gods, and had no qualms about helping himself to the huge amounts of treasure just sitting there, almost begging to be stolen. When the idea first occurred to him, he called in one of his new lieutenants, Abana, who (usefully enough) happened to be Egyptian.

The lieutenant stood before him, shifting slightly nervously.

"Abana…" Jiang began, "what do you know about the tombs in Egypt?"

A month later found Jiang sneaking up on a tomb. It was a fairly small one, belonging to a minor nobleman as opposed to a Pharaoh, but he decided it would be best to start small, at least until he got the hang of using this magic. For the first time in a while, he felt truly alive once more, fascinated by the idea of robbing a magically protected tomb. It seemed that unless he was doing something most people wouldn't approve of, he wasn't happy. He had spent the past month studying the basic curses and traps in tombs, and found it fascinating. Luckily for him, he had a shamaness from the far south, with skin black as charcoal, in his company. Akuma was a great help, explaining what she could of the magics and showing him how to fight it. Because he would be combating Egyptian magic, he needed to learn how to use the basic – and at the same time, most complex – component of it. Namely, his ka.

Learning how to summon it had been one of the weirder experiences of his life. No matter how many times he did it after his initial success, it always felt strange, as if he was doing something wrong, or putting something out of place. Akuma said that with practice he would improve. In truth, she was very impressed with his ka. She had never seen a ka that manifested so ambiguously, looking mostly like shadow but faintly resembling something canine. She knew that such a ka was definitely not ordinary, but any theories about it she kept to herself.

Jiang watched the tomb for a few minutes longer, before advancing finally. There were no sentries, as Abana had promised, but his soldier's instinct demanded that he approach carefully. He stared at the ornate stone entrance for a minute, wondering how he should approach. All of the worst traps were supposed to be on the main entrance, but this was only a minor nobleman's grave; the traps here shouldn't be too difficult, and they would be good practice. Jiang took a step forward. Nothing happened. He took another step into the threshold, but immediately jumped back as an inner warning sounded. He watched as a shimmering black veil covered the opening. Interesting. Well, time to try out his magic. He concentrated, using the strange technique of emptying his mind and thinking about everything that made him himself at the same time (which shouldn't really be possible, but nevermind). The demon-dog manifested, and Jiang sent it a mental command to enter the tomb. The moment the demon-dog (he really needed a name for the thing) touched the shield, it dissolved into nothing, leaving the entry clear. Jiang was pleasantly surprised. It looked like this wouldn't be so hard after all.

Further in, it got slightly more difficult. There were several semi-physical traps with blades, pitfalls and such, which were hardly a challenge to Jiang's honed reflexes, and he managed to use his ka to break through the other minor spells. There were several interesting ones, such as the one meant to confuse him and keep him going in circles, but none were a great challenge to break or avoid. Jiang finally made it to the tomb itself, and helped himself to whatever treasure he could carry, before quickly leaving the place.

Jiang didn't believe in their afterlife; he didn't care about taking the gold just sitting there. It was not a very great transition, actually, from living off killing and living off those already dead.

The Tombrobber was born.

-Several years later-

Jiang woke up, sweating, from a dream he hadn't had in a long time. His white hair was matted, and his legs were tangled in his robe. He could no longer remember the details, but a vivid, nagging feeling remained. He got up quickly, searching for the thing he needed to calm down. Where were the shards? He searched frantically for several minutes, tearing open bins and upending sacks, before the memory surfaced. Egypt -Akunadin -the shards -the Millennium Items. Jiang banged his head on a nearby wooden box in frustration. How could he have been so stupid to forget about them for so long?! It had been –what? Twenty years now? Almost. With all his troubles and newfound excitement at tomb robbing, he had completely forgotten about the Item that was supposed to be his. Jiang flopped onto the floor, a happy grin on his face. With the power of a Millennium Item, he would be nearly unstoppable! The thought of such power made him excited on so many levels. Ever since he had started working with magic, it seemed that he couldn't get enough of the intoxicating feeling of power, and the obsession just kept growing. He wanted _more_. Sometimes, when he was in a strange mood, he would wonder at how this Shadow magic had almost taken over his life, how he was dancing to it's tune, addicted. But he didn't, _couldn't_, care.

By now none of the Sand Vipers were those who had known Jiang at the beginning. Even so, they noticed how their leader had changed. He became even more distant than usual, and seemed to have an almost crazy glint in his eyes most of the time. They worried, but there was nothing they could do.

It took Jiang several weeks to arrive in the capital, and the meeting there went less than successfully. Jiang stormed out of the throne room, dispatching any guards that had survived his entry and got in his way. He was furious at the stupid Pharaoh –all he had demanded was his due, nothing else! He had practically won the war for them, and this was the thanks he got?!

The thought that his request had actually been rather ridiculous and unbelievable never crossed his mind.

Later that day he found lodging towards the edge of the city, where he planned to stock up for his next journey; to the Valley of Kings, where the Pharaoh was planning to transfer his father's mummy to an unviolated grave. Jiang grinned. It was too perfect. He knew that they would be expecting him, but at this stage of the game he also knew that they would underestimate him. Soon he would be in possession of his first Millennium Item. He finished his beer, but stopped abruptly when he felt eyes on his back. There shouldn't have been time for news of him to reach this far, Jiang thought confusedly, and besides, no one here had dared bother him ever since he had come in. Jiang leaned back in his chair casually, then pretended to yawn, turning his head at the same time. Ah hah, so somebody _was_ watching him. A startled brown-haired teenager quickly turned away, pretending to ignore him. Jiang frowned slightly; he had never seen him before in his life, though he seemed slightly familiar for some reason. He shrugged and went back to his drink. If the boy got in his way, then he'd deal with him. Jiang left the room to saddle Scorpion. The old one had died, but he had acquired a new horse. The new one wasn't quite as intelligent as the old Scorpion had been, but it would do. If he left now and rode most of the night, he should reach the Valley sometime next day, and then the fun would begin.

Dark eyes watched in frustration as the thief left the room. A few minutes later the boy left as well.

Jiang stared at the village he arrived at. The place was completely deserted, but he could tell by the houses that seemed practically untouched that it was not a result of war. Scorpion was nervous, dancing and refusing to get closer to the place. Jiang finally gave up on getting the nervous animal to enter, and tethered him to a nearby rock. He didn't quite know why he was so drawn to the place, but it seemed to be calling out to him in some strange way. The sand made unnaturally loud noise under his feet, and he tried to walk as lightly as he could so as not to disturb the silence. The feeling of wrongness grew the further he got, passing deserted houses, empty streets and broken temples. It seemed like much longer, but it only took him ten minutes to reach the place he sensed was the center of the disturbance. Something in his mind screamed out for him to get away, but he continued into the old temple. His gaze was immediately drawn to the center, where a tablet rested in a ray of sunlight. It was shaped like a mummy's sarcophagus, and had seven strangely shaped holes in the middle. Then the screaming started.

Jiang collapsed to the floor as the wailing surrounded him, seeming to split his head in two with its intensity. He clutched his head, trying to will the noise to stop, but it didn't help. He could now see strange wispy shapes floating around him, and could dimly make out a meaning in all the noise. _Theykilledus,theykilledus_.

"What?" he cried, trying to make sense of it. "What did they do? Why are you so angry?!"

_Look_, they said. Abruptly his mind was filled with images, images of people screaming, being cut and burned and melted down, being torn up, blood spurting, children crying, and screaming and screaming-

"Stop it!" he gasped, unable to take it anymore. "What do you want from me!?"

_Killthem__ Killthemforus!_

"Leave me alone! I don't want to be part of a blood feud." Jiang was angry at the images they were showing him, but still, he didn't want to get any more involved. The images kept coming, and now he saw, fueled by the pain, the creation of the Millennium Items. _His_ Millennium Items. He could hardly think coherently from all the sensory overload, and his will was slowly crumbling. Their anger and need for revenge pounded at his consciousness, until he was almost curled up in a ball.

"Kill them," Jiang whimpered helplessly. "Kill them all. Take back my Items."

_Yesssssssss___

Jiang reached the Valley of Kings later than he would have hoped, but with renewed strength. The ghosts had left him alone once he had given in to their wishes, and even given his shadow powers a boost. It didn't look like whatever trap the priests prepared for him would be a big challenge. Once again he left Scorpion tethered some distance away, and went towards the new tomb all by himself. He snorted in disgust. How stupid did they think he was? It was obvious that they had arrived already, if they thought he wouldn't have figured it out they were even more foolish than he had previously assumed.

Jiang strode arrogantly down the path, and into the tomb, outwardly nonchalant, but with all his senses alert to the magic energy flying around.

Priest Mahaado, the bearer of the Millennium Ring stepped out of the shadows, a grim smile on his face. "So, Tombrobber," he wasn't going to embarrass himself by trying to pronounce the foreign name, "you fell into the trap."


	27. Two Down, Three to Go

To all those wonderful readers out there who review- a huge THANK YOU!!!!!! I love you guys!  
Aaaaaaaaaand here's the next chapter:

Priest Mahaado, the bearer of the Millennium Ring stepped out of the shadows, a grim smile on his face. "So, Tombrobber," he wasn't going to embarrass himself by trying to pronounce the foreign name, "you fell into the trap."

"No!" Jiang feigned horror at the revelation. "This was a trap? I had absolutely no idea! Oh no, what am I going to do now?"

Mahaado gritted his teeth. Plain arrogance he could understand, but this thief was just infuriating. He seemed to be convinced that everyone except him was a blithering idiot, and did nothing to hide it.

Jiang was now tapping his foot impatiently and looking around. "Well, where's the surprise? Can we get on with the show? I don't have all day."

"You have all eternity," Mahaado snapped. As he spoke, a wall of dark purplish swirling mass rose in a large circle around the two, cutting them off from the exit completely. "It doesn't matter who wins, neither of us can get out of here alive."

"How noble, sacrificing yourself," Jiang sneered. Inwardly, he groaned. How he hated these self-righteous sacrifice-myself-to-save-the-world-from-YOU types! Without waiting any longer, he summoned his ka to attack. The sooner they fought and the quicker somebody won, the easier it would be to break out. Mahaado, too, summoned his ka, the Dark Magician. He felt a thrill of fear as he once again saw the strange shadowy ka of the Tombrobber, but knew it was ungrounded. His Magician was an extremely powerful ka, and this lowlife would not defeat him.

In the dark created by the purple shield around them, Jiang's ka had the advantage. It was incredibly easy for the demon-dog to blend in, and become nearly invisible. All he had to do was distract the other ka long enough to attack the Priest directly, and the battle would be won. The demon-dog leapt forward, attacking with newly materialized fangs that suddenly appeared out of its nebulous form. The Dark Magician was nearly too slow, and brought up its staff just in time to keep from being bitten. They wrestled for a while, the Dark Magician clearly at a disadvantage. It was equipped more for battle from a distance, not hand-to-hand against a beast in close quarters. With the passing seconds, the demon-dog grew more defined, resembling a wolf more and more. Finally the Dark Magician managed to push it away long enough to release a blast of magic, which the dog dodged quickly. The advantage of power was clearly with the Magician, but the wolf made up for that in agility.

Meanwhile, Jiang was concentrating hard on the battle, but at the same time inching his way around the room, towards Mahaado. He was forced to dodge several blasts of magic, but concentrated most on keeping his ka in movement, for distraction, and staying fairly intangible so that even if it did get hit, it might go through harmlessly.

Mahaado too was having a much harder time than he had anticipated. He was concentrating on the battle, not noticing how Jiang was coming closer and closer; he would never anticipate such dishonor, even from a tomb robber.

With a final lunge, Jiang drew his knife and leapt forward, burying it deep in Mahaado's back. Mahaado stiffened in shock before collapsing onto the ground, the pain hitting him only then. The Dark Magician had time only for a startled look, before it faded out.

Jiang lowered the lax body of the priest, who was glaring at him with the last of his strength, to the ground. "It's not personal," he said conversationally. "You're the one who set up this ridiculous situation. I really have nothing against you."

"Traitorous…bastard…" Mahaado gritted out, wishing he had enough strength left at least to take the Tombrobber with him. "Have fun in the afterlife!" were the last words he heard before the world faded out, and he did the last thing in his power to do: Mahaado fused himself with his ka, swearing to be the eternal protector of his Pharaoh.

Jiang silently watched the priest die, before turning his attention to his true goal – the Millennium Ring around his neck. With restrained excitement, he took the Ring, stroking the metal lovingly, feeling the power thrum against his hands. _See?_ He told the ghosts of Kuru Eruna silently. _I killed_ _him_. He felt a relief at thinking that, and some of the pressure on his mind left him. The thief hung the rope around his neck, admiring the way the pendant looked on him, before turning his attention to the rapidly closing trap. The walls of energy had almost closed, leaving only a small opening at the top of the dome shape. Jiang exchanged a look with his ka, before shrugging. He concentrated on the Ring, drawing the power out and into himself and his ka before leaping straight up, his ka mimicking his movements. He shot upwards, through the ever-shrinking opening and right into the stone ceiling above it. The impact left him stunned, and he fell like a rag doll as the stone around him shattered and he rolled to the ground in a shower of fragmented rocks.

------------------------------------------------

In the capital of Egypt, in the royal palace, the young Pharaoh Atem watched as the image of a magician appeared on the blank tablet, and knew that the faithful priest Mahaado was dead. He touched the cold stone, feeling that this death was his failure, as were the other deaths caused by the Tombrobber. He silently swore to himself that he would use any means necessary to stop this scourge.

------------------------------------

When Jiang finally regained consciousness, the sun was already leaning toward the west. Pieces of rock lay all around him, and his ka had vanished once again. He pushed himself onto his feet, slightly unsteadily, and began making his way back to where he'd left Scorpion. If he hurried, he could make it back to Tel el-Amarna before the next morning.

-------------------------------------------------

Priest Seth, bearer of the Millennium Rod, came to stand near the Priest Akunadin in the temple. "Priest Mahaado has failed to kill the Tombrobber," he said emotionlessly. "Normal ka cannot stand against the one he possesses, even more so now that he owns a Millennium Item."

Akunadin turned to him, his golden eye glinting in the firelight. "And you propose to do what about this? The Pharaoh will use the God monsters and defeat him."

"We can not take the chance that he will not succeed. The Tombrobber is dangerous, probably insane. We must have many powerful ka available to us, in case the Pharaoh falters."

"You speak treason," Akunadin said coldly. "Our Pharaoh will not fail us."

"I speak the truth. Of course, I have complete faith in our Pharaoh, but we must plan for the worst-case scenario. Besides, such an army could only help to strengthen the Pharaoh's position."

Despite his misgivings, Akunadin was swayed. The Pharaoh was still young; no one was quite sure how he would stand up to the crisis. "How do you suggest we go about this?"

"We must go out among the people and search out those with powerful ka." Seth did not mention the second part of his plan, which involved strengthening that ka in the fastest, most proven way possible –through torture.

Akunadin nodded in understanding. "I understand now. You want me to search out these people with my Millennium Eye. I can see that you have not tried to use your Millennium Rod recently."

Seth was startled at the abrupt change. "Why?" he snapped.

"Because then you would know that something strange has come over the Millennium Items. Their powers have become sporadic. Something has dragged them all out of balance, according to the Priest Shadi."

"Out of balance?" Seth repeated, trying to understand how such a thing happened.

"Of course, it could be because of the recent death of Priest Mahaado, but Shadi believes that for there to be this kind of imbalance there must be another cause."

"Then the ka hunt is even more imperative if we are to prevail. Our only comfort is that the Tombrobber's stolen Item will be as much out of balance as ours are."

----------------------------------------------

The next morning Jiang woke up early, intent on getting started on earning his next Item. The Puzzle would be too difficult to acquire at this time; he wasn't ready to take on the Pharaoh yet. He ran through his knowledge of the other priests, while using the Ring to search for the other Items. He could sense two of them moving towards the city. No good, he didn't want to fight two at once yet. Several were in the Palace; the most isolated one being the Millennium Tauk. Yes, that would do. He set out into the city, on foot this time, plotting a course that would keep him out of the way of the priests, and was sufficiently roundabout to maybe get him a glimpse of whoever was following him.

The stalker was good, he had to admit, as he went in several circles and through backyards, but still not managing to catch him. Finally he went through the market, and after several minutes of dodging through the crowds, managed to lose the stalker.

Unlike the last time he had been to the palace, when he had simply barged right in, Jiang took a roundabout, quiet way this time. He skillfully evaded the guards, and drew on the power of his Millennium Ring to get him safely inside. He had no way of knowing how much power he was using to keep the Ring under control, or that the fluctuations in power were not normal.

Finally, after a while of sneaking through corridors and carefully disabling guards, he reached a pair of large ornate doors, behind which he knew the Priestess Isis was. This time, he didn't plan on giving her a chance. None of those tedious duels; he would attack quickly and cleanly, and hopefully be out of here before anybody figured out what had happened. Slowly, he inched the nearer door open, looking quickly around to get a good look at the layout of the room. It was a library, papyrus scrolls lining the walls. The priestess was tranquilly reading a scroll, while the quiet bustle of scribes at their work floated around her. Jiang scowled. His only chance was to summon his ka and attack as quickly as possible. He focused on the Ring, raising the power before abruptly releasing his ka.

The priestess must have felt something, for she looked up pensively, just in time to see the black shadow rushing at her. Isis summoned whatever powers she could at such a short notice to create a barrier, but it was too little too late. The demon-dog knocked her down, amidst the shrieks of the scribes, and proceeded to tear the Tauk from her throat, slashing her open in the process. Jiang dashed in immediately, and his ka returned to him obediently, handing over the Item. The thief didn't even bother to wipe the blood off it before putting it around his neck. He ran for the opposite exit, his ka following him, as silent and inconspicuous as a shadow.

----------------------------------------------

Pharaoh Atem jerked in his seat, as he felt the unmistakable surge that meant another Item bearer had died. Almost immediately, a young guard ran into the room, gasping out that the Priestess Isis had been killed, in the library, and her Item stolen.

"How could-!" the Priest Karim gasped. He hardly believed that the thief had dared, or succeeded, in murdering the priestess practically under their noses.

"No time for that," Atem said bleakly. He would no longer play games with this Tombrobber. Now he was angry, and he knew what he must do to defeat him. He would summon the Gods.


	28. Babysitter

Eh…so it's been a while. A rather long while. But I am back, and here's chapter 28! And I was to give a huge, enormous thank-you to SupremeHyren, Zircon, Silvershadowfire, and LunarDaughter. I don't know what I would do without your encouragement!

**Important**: to those of you who were wondering, everything that happens in this history is completely pertinent to what's going to happen in the future (in modern times), so stick around and see if you can figure out how!

**Babysitter**

Jiang ran into a courtyard of the palace, with what seemed to be a whole army of palace guards chasing him. Following him was fairly easy, as the shadowy form of his ka that shimmered around him was a dead giveaway. He had found that by almost merging himself and his ka, he could enhance his physical abilities, which was wonderfully useful. He was beginning to feel good; if all he had to contend with were some pathetic guards, he'd be out of here in no time.

Then he heard the roar.

Jiang's head jerked up reflexively, and what he saw made him nearly stumble. A huge red dragon was hovering over the palace, one of its mouths opening to release a blast of energy. Shit! Jiang swore to himself. There was no way his ka, powerful as it was, could stand a chance against one of the God-Monsters! He dived out of the way of the blast at the last second, leaving it to gouge a crater in the pavement. Ok, quick change of plans: he would make straight for the city. There the dragon wouldn't be able to attack him freely, not with all those innocent citizens wandering around!

Dodging guards and the dragon's mouth-beams and talons, Jiang somehow made it out the front gate. But with this huge stretch of wide road between him and the city, there was no way he could evade both the guards and the dragon, unless…

His ka immediately responded to his idea of camouflage. Jiang separated himself from it, leaving the ka to grow larger and larger, becoming a huge shadow that obscured the road. In this state, his ka could do little to defend him, but at least now the dragon couldn't see to aim at him.

The first blast through the shadow nearly hit him. It must be able to sense the Millennium Items somehow, Jiang thought. He kept running in a zigzag, until he could no longer sustain his ka at that size. He made it vanish, thus putting him neatly into the guards' and the dragon's view, but by now he was already running into the crowds of the city. People around him were panicking and running around and yelling, and in general being ninnies and getting in his way. He dodged in between them, trying to lose the guards, but the dragon was keeping track of him and leading them to him. The situation was beginning to look rather bleak.

He suddenly noticed that he could sense two more Millennium Items up ahead, in the market area. Double shit. Before he could decide what to do, yells and screams erupted from the market area as well, and people began to run panicked in the opposite direction. A part of Jiang's mind wondered how many people would end up trampled by these panic stricken rivers of people in opposing directions.

Suddenly, the dragon looked up, with an almost puzzled air, and veered away from following him, looking towards the market. Jiang didn't question his luck, but immediately began to run full-force once again. The guards were still after him. They were confused by the dragon's sudden change in direction, but as they could still see him, they decided to go after the obvious quarry.

Jiang finally broke free of the crowds, dodging into a small, thankfully empty, side street that intersected with another one further on. On the bad side, the guards were still hot on his heels.

Jiang ran towards the intersection, hoping that after he got out of their line of sight he'd be able to jump into a doorway or something and lose them. One of the guards seemed to guess his intent, and swiftly threw his knife at him. Before thought of what to do about the danger could even be formulated in Jiang's mind, somebody running in from the cross-passage to his left collided with him solidly, knocking them both to the ground and probably saving Jiang's life.

Jiang found himself staring into the face of his unwitting rescuer, which immediately took on a horrified expression. The boy let out a reflexive curse word in a language Jiang didn't understand and scrambled away from him, lavender eyes wide in horrified shock under a head of pitch-black hair. The whole thing took less than five seconds, before the boy took off down the street in a panicked run, leaving Jiang to jump to his feet and chase after him. Actually, he didn't mean to chase the kid specifically, but that seemed the best direction to get away from his pursuers.

As Jiang ducked into a doorway and watched the soldiers run past him, a part of his mind wondered what language the kid had been speaking, and why he had looked so horrified to see him. He hadn't done anything that should put that kind of terror into somebody just from seeing him, had he? Jiang looked down, suddenly noticing the Millennium Ring informing him of another Item in the vicinity. He stared after the vanishing form of the kid. Could he possibly have the item?

By the time he dared to come out of hiding, the boy was already fairly far away, and would probably take quite a bit of chasing. Attacking the boy would probably be much easier than taking on a priest, though. His mind made up, Jiang started off quickly in the direction his Ring pointed. It wouldn't be too hard to find the kid; he would stand out in a crowd because of the unusual amount of clothing he wore, and those lavender eyes of his were quite striking.

Above the city, the dragon of Osiris gave a roar of frustrated anger, as it perceived that its quarry had vanished.

(((7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777)))

The Pharaoh was furious. "We nearly had him! Despite all the problems, we could have caught the Ra-damned Tombrobber, but my dragon got distracted by you. _What did you think you were doing there_?!" His eyes flashed in anger as he regarded his priests, mainly Akunadin and Seth.

"We were testing for powerful ka in the marketplace," Seth said smoothly. "However, there was a disturbance. Two boys who looked to have powerful ka refused to be tested, and when priest Akunadin used his Millennium Eye on them, one jumped forward and summoned his ka to attack us!" the bearer of the Millennium Rod was clearly furious that a mere child _nobody_ would dare defy his orders, and attack him as well.

"But the other one was even more strange," Akunadin cut into the tale. "It was the Tombrobber! I would recognize that ka anywhere."

Startled cries erupted from the other priests, and the Pharaoh shouted over the noise, "Impossible! We saw the Tombrobber minutes before! We were chasing him!"

"It is rather hard to mistake a ka as strange as his," Seth snapped.

Atem finally tuned out the arguing priests, desperation eating at the edges of his consciousness. The priest Shadi had only just told him how the Millennium Items were hopelessly out of balance, and now the Tombrobber seemed to making copies of himself, in addition to the fact that he had already stolen two of the Items. The situation was seeming more and more hopeless.

(((7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777)))

Tracking the black-haired boy proved to be more trouble than Jiang had thought. He was an expert tracker, but judging by the constant movement of the boy, he came to two conclusions: either the boy was incredibly restless or some sort of spy, or he was aware he was being followed. As the day wore on, Jiang felt more and more as if the second option was correct. The kid never stayed in one place very long, and seemed to be wandering the city aimlessly, leading him a merry chase through the streets. Several times he had managed to nearly catch up, when the kid stopped to have conversations with people on the street and in shadows of buildings. Jiang wasn't worried, however; eventually his prey would have to rest, and then he would catch him.

While Jiang had an unnatural obsession with killing the Pharaoh, thanks to the ghosts of Kuru-Eruna, they couldn't do anything about his slightly short attention span. People who thwarted him had always intrigued Jiang, and he refused to give up until he had confronted and defeated this Egyptian boy. Almost before he knew it, the sun was setting, coloring the sky brilliant colors and lengthening the shadows on the streets.

Come on, he thought at the boy. You need to rest, go ahead. Stop for the night. Jiang kept a distance now, hoping that the kid would feel confident he had shaken the tombrobber, and stop for the night.

His patience was rewarded as he finally felt the Millennium Item stop moving. He sneaked forward, finally reaching the building he sensed it in. A tavern. Jiang cursed roundly under his breath. With all the Pharaoh's guards and soldiers around the city looking for him, there was no chance he could have a public fight. Oh well. He shrugged, and entered the dim room.

The Tombrobber picked his way through the lowlifes who frequented this place, until he reached a relatively secluded corner, where a familiar form waited for him.

Jiang sat down across from the kid, taking a mug of beer. "Hello," he greeted pleasantly, "remember me?"

The kid rolled his eyes. "Of course. You're the pain in the ass who's been following me all day. Was there something you wanted?"

"What have you got?" Jiang studied the other intently. He could tell the kid was nervous – very nervous. In addition, he had a strange accent, one Jiang had never heard before.

Seeming to come to some sort of decision, the other suddenly smiled, and leaned forward. "Two things. One which I have but don't want, and one which I need, but not now."

Jiang narrowed his brown eyes thoughtfully, contemplating the strange answer. This kid was used to playing these sort of games, he could tell by the change in manner; his nervousness was much less evident.

"My name is Merykare," the Egyptian said. "You are the Tombrobber."

"Jiang."

"Jiang." Merykare repeated thoughtfully. Jiang was surprised to notice that he hadn't stumbled over the word at all. "Well, Jiang, I have a Millenium Item. Do you want it?"

"Do you want to give it to me?"

"I'll trade you for it."

Jiang was almost disappointed. He had been looking forward to another fight, and this opponent had the potential to be rather interesting. On the other hand, a battle of wits was interesting too. Did Merykare actually mean to trade away his Millennium Item? "What will you trade for?"

The Egyptian nodded in satisfaction, before standing up. "I'll show you." He walked off, stopping at the other side of the room to grab somebody's arm. He returned a moment later, dragging another person. This one was shorter,and looked younger, maybe thirteen years old. He had unruly black hair that looked like it was trying to stick out in as many directions as possible, and wide, innocent purple eyes. Unlike Merykare, this was obviously a foreigner, judging by the features and the lighter skin. Merykare sat down, pulling the younger one with him.

"This is Ekur," he said. Ekur was looking at them both in frightened puzzlement, not seeming to understand what was happening. "I need him, but not now."

Which meant that the Millennium Item was what he didn't want?

"If you'll take him with you, and watch him for me for five days, I'll give you the Millennium Item. Watch him well, though. I want Ekur back alive and unhurt."

Where was the catch? Jiang narrowed his eyes again. To watch over this kid, in exchange for a Millennium Item? Could this be some sort of trap from the Pharaoh, an assassin sent to kill him? Well, that would only make the game more interesting.

"But, M-Merykare!" Ekur suddenly protested in heavily accented Egyptian. "Are you crazy?" His violet eyes flashed. "You could ruin-"

"Shut UP!" Merykare snapped. "It's a perfectly decent trade, and will get YOU out of my hair for five days, so I can get stuff done, finally!" He shot a glance at Jiang. Ekur suddenly blinked, backing down. "O-oh!" he said. "I understand."

"I'll accept this bargain," Jiang said, calling their attention back to him. "I'll return him to you when three stars are in the sky at the end of five days."

Merykare nodded his agreement.

Jiang turned to leave the tavern, motioning for Ekur to follow. He would now find a place for them both to get a good night's sleep, in preparation for the next day. Ekur shuffled after him, casting one worried glance at Merykare before they left.

(((7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777)))

Ekur had to hurry constantly to keep up with Jiang's long strides. Every so often, Jiang would glance back to make sure he hadn't fallen too far behind. After about ten minutes of walking, Jiang finally spoke to his charge.

"So, Ekur…that's an Assyrian name, isn't it?" the Tombrobber probed.

"It's Sumerian," Ekur panted. Jiang nodded; his cover was at least that good.

"I'm from Shekhem," Ekur added helpfully, when Jiang made no comment.

Jiang wondered if that accent really was Sumerian. Unfortunately, he had never known anybody from the area of Shekhem (which was a city rather far north and slightly west of their current location), so he had no real way to check Ekur's story and credentials.

They finally stopped for the night in an abandoned house, where they slept on the floor. Unless he was always such a restless sleeper, Ekur was not used to sleeping on floors; he tossed and shifted all night, nearly driving Jiang crazy with the rustling. The thief was sorely tempted to kick him several times, but managed to restrain himself.

(((7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777)))

"Where are we going now?" Ekur asked, once again hurrying after Jiang. Jiang had woken him up not long after sunrise, and was now leading him quickly through the city.

"We'll grab some food, and then I have stuff to do," _like steal some more Millennium Items_, "You stay close to me, do whatever I tell you, and try to keep quiet."

Ekur nodded, looking unhappy.

Jiang easily swiped some bread and figs from stands in the market, which he generously shared with Ekur. Ekur looked at the food dubiously, before proceeding to completely discombobulate the fig to its component molecules, and then refusing to eat the peel. He only nibbled at the bread.

"Not good enough for you?" Jiang commented.

"No! I mean, yes! It's fine!" Ekur was clearly flustered, his wide eyes projecting complete innocence. "It's just, I'm not so hungry…"

Jiang shrugged. "Have it your way."

After eating, Jiang led him to an old house, where they both dressed in rags. Then they went to the main road leading from the palace, and wandered all day among the beggars, yowling and scraping and generally making nuisances of themselves. Jiang was using his Millennium Ring to follow the other Items, trying to get a feel for the schedule of the Pharaoh and the remaining priests. It also greatly amused him to prance by all those alert soldiers looking for him, and not noticing that he was right in front of their eyes. People really were stupid.

At the end of the day they holed up in a different shack than last time. Jiang was surprised to find that Ekur, with his wide eyes and sweet face, had actually collected quite a bit of money begging that day.

"With these kind of takings, maybe I should give up tomb robbing and take up begging," Jiang laughed. In truth, he had no intention of doing so. The fun was not in getting money; the fun was in the challenge.

For dinner, they had cucumbers, dried fish, bread and some apples. Jiang watched curiously as Ekur took out a knife and peeled all the cucumbers and apples before eating them. He refused to touch the bread, and took only the barest sip of water.

"Are you trying to starve yourself or something?" Jiang asked, nettled. He was supposed to bring the kid back to Merykare in one piece, dammit!

"No!" Ekur said immediately, "I just have a weak stomach; I can't eat lots of things."

Jiang decided to leave it at that.

(((7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777)))

Next day, Jiang woke Ekur up even earlier, so they could get into position. If the priest Akunadin would keep to his usual schedule, he would be spending a portion of the morning alone in one of the temples (Jiang knew where it was, but hadn't bothered checking who it was dedicated to), which would be a perfect opportunity to strike. He was looking forward to this one; he hadn't stopped blaming Akunadin for this whole mess, and he certainly hadn't forgotten how the priest had broken his promise.

"Listen up," he told Ekur crisply. "We're going to be sneaking into one of the temples. You are to obey every order promptly; you can ask questions later. Understood?" Ekur nodded, trepidation obvious in his expression. Briefly, Jiang wished for one of his lieutenants, who he knew he could trust to get their job done. But this Sumerian was what he had, and he'd make do.

When they got to the first ranks of guards, Jiang sent Ekur to pretend to beg, and distract the guards long enough for him to sneak past. Then he knocked one of them out, and stole his uniform and weapon. Jiang snagged Ekur on the way in, and dragged him through the corridors and paths to the temple. He had learned long ago that if you looked like you had a purpose and knew where you were going, not many people would bother you. Eventually, they reached the entrance to the temple.

"You wait here," he told Ekur softly. "Stay hidden. If anyone comes, tell me."

Ekur nodded nervously. By now Jiang was almost completely sure Ekur was no spy; no spy could pull off such a look of innocence.

Jiang entered the brightly lit temple, advancing towards the kneeling figure by the altar. "Hello, Akunadin!" his voice rang out cheerfully.

The priest leaped up, whirling around to fix him with a half-enraged half-frightened stare. "Tombrobber!"

**A/N**: I know it's been ages since I updated. School is mostly to blame. I learn 6 days a week, I start at 7:00 every day, and finish at 6:30 two days. One day I only get home around 10:00 pm. And I can't write at all on Saturtdays. So my writing time is rather limited, but I'll do my best.

Review?


	29. The Day The Ring Went Nuts

Thanks to: Silvershadowfire, SupremeHyren, DevilDo1169, LunarDaughter, and (last but not least!) Zircon. This chapter is also longer than usual. I'm finally getting somewhere! Wohoo!

**The Day the Ring Went Nuts**

Susan turned off her cellphone on another stuck-up, annoying so-called high class youkai who had called her about the Shikon shards. The kids, of course, were completely oblivious of the danger they were in. She envied them that ignorance; they happily wandered Egypt, speculating about what the two yamis were 'dreaming', not quite aware of what was going on in the rest of the world.

All the Shikon shards had activated by now and wreaking havoc in many parts of the world. Susan got phone calls almost every other day, demanding to know what she was doing about securing the Shards. Almost any other youkai, she knew, would have simply tried to take the Millennium Items by force. Which was an incredibly stupid idea, and would probably cause a whole lot more fighting.

Susan acknowledged that the Millennium Items belonged to their current owners, but that still didn't solve the problem for the rest of the world. It seemed that she was the only one who could look at the problem objectively. No matter what, the Shikon no Tama must be gotten rid of. Permanently. For three thousand years, it had caused no end of pain and bloodshed; it was time to end all that. There was a problem, however. Seven problems: the Millennium Items. They too were items of power, and it seemed that the world was not ready to deal with such things yet (if it ever _would_ be ready.)

There was only one conclusion, one solution to the problem. But it would cost people their lives. Normally, she would have said, what were a few lives when they could be sacrificed to save everybody else? But she knew herself well enough to know that was her youkai nature speaking. If _she_ were the one being asked to die, she would not be amenable. And from the time spent with these people, she did not trust those who would be asked to make the sacrifice to agree to it. She did not judge and find them wanting for this selfishness; it was only natural.

Why did _she_ always seem to be the one stuck with the crazy, unsolvable problems?

777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

Surrounded only by endless, roiling blackness, he had nothing to distract him. Nothing to keep him from asking himself those questions burning through his mind. Why? Why did he hate his other half? If he tried to think about it rationally (definitely not an easy feat), he kept wondering why they could not cooperate. Malik was his other half, did that mean they could do nothing but try to destroy each other? But he hated Malik. Hated him with a passion. And suddenly, he knew why. Malik was Malik. Malik was a real person, with a name and a past and a body. He, however, was nothing. He had no identity, aside from the one borrowed from Malik – "Yami Malik." He had no body. He wasn't real. Of course he wanted to destroy his other half! With Malik gone, _he_ would be Malik. But now, he couldn't. Because he didn't want to be a pale replacement of Malik. He wanted to be _himself_. He wasn't quite sure who this 'himself' was, but he now understood his purpose. To understand, once and for all, who he was.

777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

Seth strode into the throne room, and the guards at the door jumped to attention. Something he saw from the corner of his eye made him stop, and stare at them. "You!" he barked at the left hand one, "who are you?" The soldier jumped and gulped visibly. "My name is Raia," the soldier said uncertainly. Seth couldn't help but feel that he knew this young, brown-haired, brown-eyed person from somewhere. "You aren't Egyptian," he stated flatly. Seth turned to the other guard. "Who is he?" he demanded angrily. Raia managed to prevent himself from directing a pleading look at the other guard, who promptly denounced him.

"He showed up several days ago, sir! He said he was transferred to help guard the Pharaoh, sir!"

"A spy!" Seth sneered. "Guards, arrest him!" The other guards grabbed and disarmed Raia, and dragged him to the Pharaoh's throne.

The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes at Raia. "I've seen you before also. Now that I think about it, you seem to be conveniently present around me very often. Who-"

His line of questioning was cut off by shouts from outside, and running feet.

"The Tombrobber! Again!" Seth was already rushing out the door.

"Throw him in the dungeon!" Atem commanded, motioning at Raia. "I'll deal with him later."

Raia collapsed on the floor of the cell, hearing the wood-and-metal door clang shut behind him. He sat up, letting out a few curses. Sure, he had been expecting to be discovered ever since he had infiltrated the palace, but he had hoped to hang on a few more days! Being here would definitely put a damper on his mission. He looked at the dirty stone floor and grimaced. Yes, he would definitely have to get out of here, and the sooner the better.

777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

Ekur ran into the temple breathlessly, only to stop short and blanch at the sight that met his eyes. Jiang was sitting on Akunadin's chest, in the middle of trying to pry the Millennium Eye out with one of his knives. At the sound of footsteps he looked up irritably. "What?" Jiang snapped.

"G-guards!" Ekur stammered, trying not to think about what he was looking at. "They're almost here. Lots of them!"

"Shit." Jiang glared at the unconscious priest a minute, before coming to a quick decision. He swiftly chopped off the head, wrapping it in his coat. I'll deal with you later, he thought at it. Gagging sounds made him look up again, to find Ekur curled up on the floor trying desperately not to vomit. Wonderful. He was stuck with a squeamish weakling. Why had he agreed to this stupid trade in the first place?!

"Get up!" he snapped at Ekur, dragging on his arm hard enough to bruise. "Or do you want to find out what the torture chambers of the palace look like from the inside?"

Ekur gulped and struggled to his feet, face still pale.

Jiang started moving towards the other exit, still dragging the kid. Now he could sense more Millennium Items moving his way. Double shit! He _really_ didn't feel like having a prolonged battle right now, not after he was already tired from the fight with Akunadin, and when he had a brat to babysit!

Guards were already pouring into the room as the two made their exit, but Jiang could tell that there were guards up ahead as well. "Keep up, and follow me!" he yelled at Ekur, finally releasing the kid's arm. Ekur nodded, even though he wasn't sure Jiang could see him. He tried his best, pushing himself to his limits to keep up with the fast pace.

Around several bends in the narrow, torch-lit corridor, they finally reached guards. Jiang sent his ka ahead, tearing through them efficiently, but he knew they had to hurry. Soon the guards from behind would be catching up, then the fight would be on two fronts, but he couldn't move fast because of the dead bodies that were blocking the passage. "We're in trouble," he tossed conversationally at Ekur, who was still following him, a terrified look on his face.

Or no, he had been following him a moment ago. Right now, he was pressed against the wall of the corridor, eyes shut tight. "Idiot!" Jiang shouted. "Get moving!"

Ekur still hadn't moved, and the guards from the other direction were advancing on him, murder in their eyes.

Time seemed to slow, impressions of all the people burned permanently into time; The dog-demon ka biting off a soldier's head, another soldier raising his curved sword, Jiang turning towards Ekur, the guards advancing from the rear.

And then the moment shattered, and a large semi-transparent form flashed into existence in the middle of the passage, raised it's hand, and a shimmering wall blinked into existence, blocking the advancing guards.

Jiang whistled under his breath, before turning back to the task at hand; namely, getting rid of the now-shell-shocked guards. So the kid had a spellcaster level ka! That was pretty impressive – and damn useful. Within minutes he broke through to a wider corridor that lead outside, once again dragging Ekur, with the boy's silent ka floating behind them.

The kid seemed rather shell-shocked, constantly shooting glances at his ka. Jiang figured it was the first time he had summoned it.

"Hey," Jiang caught his attention. "Block this passage," he motioned towards the left, the direction from which he could sense the other Millennium Items advancing.

"I-I don't know how!" Ekur cried.

"Just flow with your emotions," Jiang tried to muster a soothing tone, despite the rather tight situation. Ekur shot a pleading look at his ka, before taking a long calming breath.

"Try speaking out loud," Jiang suggested.

"Make a wall?" Ekur requested hesitantly of his ka. The ka immediately turned and created another shimmering semi-transparent wall where Jiang had requested it.

"Wonderful!" Jiang said, and Ekur nearly grinned, but he was immediately yanked away as the Tombrobber resumed moving.

777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

Several hours later found the Pharaoh standing rigidly in one of the conference rooms. Once again, the Tombrobber had escaped, taking the lives of tens of guards with him, and the head of the Priest Akunadin. Atem was not usually given to rage, but the anger he felt towards this individual surpassed anything he had ever felt. Fists clenched so hard they shook, Atem stared blankly at the wall, his mind far away. "I'll kill you, Tombrobber," he swore. "With my own hands, I will destroy you, and avenge those you have slaughtered."

777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

Jiang worked at the dead priest's eye socket, still trying to pry out the Millennium Eye. Ekur had vanished into a different room of the house they were staying in immediately upon arriving, leaving Jiang to deal with Item on his own. Stupid squeamish kid. Finally, with a wet sucking sound, the Eye popped out and rolled across the floor. Jiang sprang after it, wiped it off, and admired it. Now he had the Ring, the Tauk, and the Eye. Only four more! And only three more days until he could get rid of Ekur and receive Merykare's Item.

Feeling magnanimous, Jiang decided to search out Ekur and see if he could find some food that he could coax the kid to eat.

That night, guards were sent out into the city. They were ordered to patrol the whole place, leave no street corner unguarded, no house unchecked. This time, there would be no escape for the Tombrobber in the milling crowds. All the citizens were put under a strict curfew, and told to hand all strangers over to the patrols.

In all the commotion, it was hardly surprising that the escape from the prisons was discovered only many hours after the young spy had escaped. The guards stared at the chopped up door of the cell in perplexity, but no one could explain how he had escaped. With the heavy patrols, however, they figured they would catch him soon as well.

777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

Two dark figures huddled together on a rooftop, speaking in low voices.

"We're screwed. Once they find us, this whole thing is going to go up in smoke. We should never have come," a soft voice hissed.

"Isn't that what I've been saying all along?" the other answered sardonically. "But we can't give up now. It's nearly over, just one more day. I think it's going to work."

"Look who's suddenly the optimist."

"I'm just having fun."

"Fun? You call this fun?" there was a slight pause, "well, we knew you were messed up even before we came."

"Hey, what's the worst that can happen?" the tone was light, cheerful.

"I don't even want to _think_ about it," was the dour answer.

777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

Jiang watched from the window discreetly. It was still early morning, but he could already see the patrols. It was only a matter of time before they would decide to search this old house, and then the jig would be up. The minute they saw him, the whole city would know. He knew, knew in his blood that today would be the last day. Today would be the final battle with the Pharaoh. Jiang didn't even notice the feral grin on his face. But where should the battleground be? In the city, it would inhibit the Pharaoh from using all his power, because of the innocent bystanders that could be hurt. So maybe jumping up and down on the roof and shouting 'I'm here, come and get me!' wasn't such a bad idea. With his three Millennium Items, he was fairly confident that he could take on the Pharaoh, but the problem arose with the Priests. Him alone, even with three Millennium Items, against the Pharaoh and three priests…well, he didn't especially like the odds.

"Ekur!" he called, the glimmer of an idea sparking. When the boy came up, he continued, "I need your help."

"I doubt I can do anything of use," Ekur said doubtfully.

"Your ka can probably generate large explosions," Jiang said. "I need you to help me even the odds. I'll tell the Pharaoh that if he doesn't fight me one-on-one, you'll blow up the city."

"WHAT?!" Ekur nearly shouted, but remembered to keep his voice low. "There's no way-"

"Obviously, you're not going to actually do it," Jiang said quickly. "All you have to do is pretend. I mean, this is in your best interest too, you know. If I can't keep you with me, and can't leave you here alone, I'll have to kill you."

Ekur was now staring at him fearfully.

"Don't look at me like that," Jiang snapped. "I rather like you, it's not like I want to kill you. You know what, I'll even put you somewhere out of sight, so nobody will see you and blame you later. Not that there will be many people left to do any blaming…"

Ekur meekly gave his consent. What else could he do?

Jiang and Ekur spent several nerve-wracking hours trying to sneak as close to the center of the city as they could. With Jiang superior senses, not to mention magic, they managed fairly well, not even killing too many people on the way. Finally, Jiang put Ekur in the lee of a sturdy house far enough from where he planned to stage the fight to be fairly safe, and gave him last minute instructions.

Then, once again alone, Jiang went to the designated place, summoned his ka and leveled everything within a half-a-kilometer radius. The stage was set.

Immediately, guards were milling around, rushing to the scene, calling for reinforcements. Jiang watched everything with a feeling of mounting excitement, a crazy grin on his face. Finally!

Upon hearing word, the Pharaoh Atem, and the priests Seth and Shadi rode towards him. This time, they would not give him a chance to defend himself. They had seen first hand the levels of treachery the Tombrobber would sink to, and had no scruples about ganging up on him if that's what it took to defeat him. Atem rode with a sense of grim determination, a ball of cold fury in his stomach. The Tombrobber had finally made a mistake – there was no way he could stand against the power of their combined Millennium Items, and the power of the God Monsters.

But when they arrived at the crater, with the Tombrobber standing in the middle, Atem understood that, once again, they had underestimated the levels to which he would sink. Behind him, was another ka, poised to blow up a good part of the city.

"Bastard!" Atem yelled.

"Don't worry," Jiang sneered. "I won't blow up your precious city. If you agree to fight me one-on-one."

"It's suicide," Seth immediately said bluntly, when the Pharaoh made no move. Atem nodded.

"I know. But I cannot sacrifice my people. Even if I die, I swear I will take this abomination with me," the Pharaoh said vehemently. "I am here, ultimately, for my people. I will do whatever it takes to save them." He dismounted, and strode forward to meet his enemy.

There was no need for them to exchange any words. They knew that this would be a battle to the death. They knew why they were fighting.

Jiang summoned his ka. It was now huge and even more frightening than before, swollen with the power of three Millennium Items. It charged at the Pharaoh, who summoned a ka as well; the spirit of Mahaado, now in the form of the Dark Magician. Teeth met staff, as they grappled back and forth, each one being fed by the power of Millennium Items.

But the Millennium Items were strangely out of balance, as if the power was being spread thinner than usual, and flowing in uneven patterns, trying to fill all the holes.

Knowing his faithful Dark Magician could not prevail against the shadow monster of Jiang's, Atem began the chant to summon Ra, the most powerful of the God Monsters.

Which, under the circumstances was a very bad decision.

He couldn't know how much the Items were out of balance. The Millennium Ring was just a magical item, but all magical items have certain awareness. And the Ring knew nothing but the fact that something was wrong. Its bearer didn't _fit_. The ebb and flow of magic only intensified the Ring's plight, and determination to make the bearer _fit_.

Nobody had any way of knowing what the effects of a part-youkai on a Millennium Item would be.

When Atem began to summon Ra, putting an even larger strain on the magic pool, the Ring had enough.

Jiang stared down in shock, as the Ring began glowing on its own, blasting waves of energy in all directions. Jiang screamed as he felt his very being torn open, his soul being pulled from his body into the black hole that the Ring had become, trying to suck everything into it. The explosion spread, tearing souls from anybody in the radius of the blast. There was no way Atem could escape the sudden wrenching as his soul was locked into his Puzzle.

The Ring was satisfied. Now its bearer _fit_.

The wind died down.

Jiang felt as if he was falling through an endless vortex, noise and color and sensation battering endlessly at his senses, until finally he hit bottom –

And found himself stumbling on a hard path, in the sun. Hands reached out to steady him, and voices yammered around him in a language he had never heard. He jerked his head up, looking around him in shock. Where was he?

He was standing on a hard, sand-colored walkway, on which people were passing by, and casting strange looks at his group. The buildings were like nothing he had ever seen before, tall and strangely shaped, and smoke-breathing monsters roared by on a black path near him. He absorbed all this in a moment, ignoring the voices and the soft, almost familiar voice that seemed to be coming from inside his head. Then he saw one familiar person. His eyes narrowed, and his lips curled in a snarl, as he lunged at the distinct form of the Pharaoh, who had just seen him.

Before he could reach him, however, strong arms grabbed him, pulling him back. Some of the other people grabbed the Pharaoh, who seemed shocked at their behavior.

Jiang would have found the situation funny, hearing the Pharaoh yell "How dare you treat me like this? I am the Pharaoh!" at these strange people, if he hadn't been so angry.

He found himself spun around, and staring into lavender eyes, the owner of which was grasping him by the shoulders. Thankfully, he was speaking in a language Jiang could understand.

"Bakura, what's with you?!" the incredibly familiar looking blonde snapped.

Bakura.

Suddenly, things began making sense.

_Yami__! Are you okay? Answer me!_

_R..you_ he asked tentatively, no longer struggling.

Relief flowed into his mind, and things snapped into focus. Houses, trees, cars. Telephone poles.

_You're back! _It was the familiar voice in his head. His hikari. Ryou.

_Yes…I'm back…_

Jiang –no, Bakura, -no, Ryu, shook his head to clear it. "I'm okay," he said, memories coming back in chunks. The blonde Merykare – wait. That was Malik.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Malik asked nervously.

777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

**A/N:** Sorry about all these cliffies! I just can't really stop anywhere now without there being one. So, did you guys figure out yet what's going on? Don't worry if you're a little confused…my proofreader was too…things should be getting much clearer soon.


	30. The Time Bouncing Bunny

I'm so proud of myself! I finally wrote another chapter of OTP! This is a great day for humanity, I tell you. I'll try to update more often, really…I think that this is actually one of my favorite stories. It's definitely got the most complicated plot. And thanks to all of you who are still reviewing! Without you I have no idea where I would get any motivation at all….  
In case you don't remember, Ryu (Jiang) and Atem just returned from the "memory world", and for some reason Malik seems awfully similar to someone Ryu met in Ancient Egypt. And now, on to chapter 30!

**The Time Bouncing Bunny**

Because of the tense relations between the recently returned Pharaoh and Tombrobber, it was decided to have them walk on the outer ends of the group on the way back to the hotel. The whole time Ryu- no, Jiang, no, Ryu-Arrgh! tried to answer the millions of questions being shot at him, while attempting to keep track of who he really was. Everything seemed so strange suddenly, and if he didn't concentrate on where he was he knew he would lose track of the time period and slip back into the Jiang persona.  
"Ryu, you still didn't tell me why you keep sending me weird looks," Malik said for what must have been the thousandth time.  
"_Khallas_ already!" Ryu snapped, not even noticing the word he slipped in. Truthfully, he wasn't quite sure what the relation between Malik and Merykare was. The similarities were unmistakable –Merykare had even had the two crooked lines under his eyes, just like Malik, but what did it mean?  
Finally, they reached the hotel, and piled into Susan's room and shut the door securely so they could talk.  
"Well?" said Tea. "Now that we have some privacy, tell us the whole story! What really happened?"  
Ryu, reluctantly, found himself exchanging a glance with Atem. The more he thought back, the stranger the story seemed. He had the feeling that several very important pieces were missing.

In the silence, Susan cut in. "We have a bigger, much more immediate problem." Attention was immediately refocused on her. "The world is, quite frankly, going to hell in a handcart. The Shikon no Tama has to be destroyed once and for all," she cut to the chase, "In order for it to be destroyed, it has to be put together first. And in order to do that, we have to destroy the Millennium Items."

You could have heard a pin drop.

"If we destroy them, they'll die," Kagome finally said. Trust Kagome to speak up.

"No!" Yugi exclaimed. "I'm not letting Yami die."

_I've been dead for thousands of years_, Atem said quietly. _Maybe it's time I moved on_.

"And I'm not letting _me_ die," snapped Ryu. Trust Ryu to be un-altruistic.

Malik didn't say anything.

"It's only going to get worse from here," Susan said. "I understand that this is hard, but we do have the rest of the world to think of."

"Screw the rest of the world," Ryu shrugged.

_Yugi__, if that's what must be done…._

_Yami__, I'm sick of you being so self-sacrificing! What about _me Yugi retorted. _I don't want you to vanish._

The others exchanged a glance, resolving to stay silent. They didn't have a stake in the matter, one way or another.

"It's ok for _you_," Malik finally said bitterly, "you're only, what, three thousand years old? I'm just seventeen."

"Well,_ I_ refuse," Ryou spoke up. "I don't want to lose my yami either, especially now that we're finally getting along."

"I'm not sure that Malik would die," Kagome mused, "if he had proper support, he might be able to last long enough for his soul to regenerate, once the source of corruption is gone."

"Ok, then, we can destroy the Items," Malik said immediately, "it's not like anybody actually _cares_ about those-" he clamped a hand over his mouth, looking at the floor in shame. "Sorry," he muttered, trying to shake of the others' gazes.

_Nasty, huh?_ commented Ryu.

_Shhhh_.

"Give us time to think about it," Yugi said, looking at Susan, who nodded.

Ryu, meanwhile, had forgotten about the conversation and gone back to thinking about Merykare. Let's see…the first time they met, had been when the Egyptian had saved his life…had fallen…cursed…wait! "Chikuso!" he leaped up, shouting. "That's it!"

Everybody stared at him weirdly, but he ignored them.

He had cursed in Japanese! That had to mean –Merykare _was_ Malik! But what the hell had Malik been doing in Ancient Egypt? It must happen in the future, Malik's future, which meant- "What?" he suddenly became aware of Malik waving his hand in front of the part-youkai's face.

"Nothing," Malik drawled, "only the fact that you randomly jumped up and cursed. Something you want to share?"

"I refuse to give up anything. You don't get me a body, I'm not giving you my Item," Ryu announced. _Somehow, we've got to get the hikaris back to Ancient __Egypt__; because they were _there_. Or then, rather. _

There was a collective sigh.

"Well, what other solution is there?" Joey finally spoke up.

"Can't Tenseiga bring them back to life?" Kagome suggested.

"No bodies," Susan said, neglecting to mention that even if they did have bodies, she wasn't sure if she had enough power to actually bring them back to life.

"Well, can't we find bodies somewhere?" wondered Tea.

"Of course," said Malik sarcastically, "empty bodies, dime a dozen, get them anywhere!"

"Shut up," sighed Tristan.

"Regular bodies wouldn't work, it has to be their own," commented Susan.

"I can't believe we're actually talking about this," Malik said, slouching and watching the ceiling. The others ignored him once again.

"Wait, Kagome already time traveled to that time period!" Joey said excitedly.

"That's right, d'you think we could use the well?" Yugi asked eagerly. "We can go back in time and bring them their old bodies!"

"Except for the fact that the well is in Japan and we need to get to Egypt, sure, noooooo problem!" called Malik. "Not to mention the language problem."

"Well, that's why _you'd_ be one of the people going," said Isis cheerfully.

"Moot point, there's no way to get there," said Malik, equally cheerfully.

"Actually," said Susan, "I think there is a way." Attention immediately turned towards her. "It's an old tale, that people mostly think is myth, but I have reason to believe it's true. There's a demon called the Time Bouncing Bunny, that you can make some kind of potion out of it that's supposed to enable time travel."

Everybody blinked.

That's it, thought Ryu. It's going to work. It's going to work, because it already did…all we need to do is plan it out.

"It's still an incredibly stupid idea," said Malik flatly into the silence. "I mean, going back to the equivalent of the third-world country? No running water, diseases everywhere, no pasteurization, no vaccination…the list goes on and on! Nobody would make it back alive." Malik stared at their determined faces for a minute, in disgust, before getting up.

Ryu laughed. "You're going to do it. Because you already did."

Malik froze. "No. I'm sick of my fate being decided for me. I won't go."

"And what if you erase yourself from existence?" Ryu suggested. "Changing history is risky. Haven't you read any science fiction?"

"There's a cross-referencing program on my laptop. You can use that," Malik finally capitulated. "But I'm not going to help you. And I'm not going." He left the room.

"So what now?" asked Joey, a few minutes later.

"I'll give you the text with the ingredients for the potion," Susan said, "and we'll split up. One to stay and cross-reference to see if we can figure out what the ingredients actually are, and the others to find this bunny."

* * *

It was decided to send Susan, Kagome, Ryou and Joey to find the bunny. From the research they did, they came to the conclusion that the only place it could be found was on the Kilimanjaro Mountain. Which meant ordering last-minute tickets to Tanzania, last-minute packing, and Susan having to start chipping in on the cost. This whole expedition was becoming more and more expensive. They decided to send only four people, because that meant less to take. Also, Kagome was a miko, and Susan and Ryou were youkai, so if worst came to worst Kagome and Joey could get piggy-backs. 

The depressing part about this whole trip, mused Ryou on the plane, was that he was getting to see so little of the place. Once the plane landed, they were off towards the mountain (which was in very plain sight, being so big), without time to stop at all, Kagome on Susan's back and Joey on Ryou's, only catching occasional glimpses of the breathtaking view. Ryou was running easily, much to his surprise, but he had the feeling that would change once they started climbing.

_Wanna__ let me take over?_ Ryu asked.

_That's not going to keep my muscles from cramping later…_Ryou responded dryly.

"So how are we supposed to find this rabbit again?" Joey called out. On one hand, it was nice not to have to walk, but the jolting was beginning to get very uncomfortable. He hoped he wouldn't discover tendencies toward seasickness or anything, because that could get quite uncomfortable.

"That's what I'm here for," Kagome called back. "I'm scanning the area for youkai. Let's just hope there aren't too many around here, otherwise this is going to be impossible."

It was getting dark, and they saw lots of strange animals, giraffes, zebras, but there was still no sign of any bunnies, time-bouncing or otherwise. They finally sat down in a sheltered spot, to light a fire and sleep. All they had were light blankets, and food. The night around them was pitch-black, with hardly any signs of civilization. It was rather cold, too.

_Yami__…d'you think we'll find it?_ Ryou asked, after he had curled up with Joey under some blankets.

_I know we will._

The fire slowly died down.

* * *

The second day was much like the first, but they climbed higher, and it got colder. Finally, around early afternoon, Kagome suddenly took notice. 

"Youkai! Youkai!" she yelled in excitement, raising them all out of their almost-stupor.

"Where?" called out Joey. She pointed west, and the two youkai turned in that direction. They finally glimpsed a flash of white between the rocks. The two humans jumped off. The four advanced slowly, on what soon turned out to be a white rabbit.

"It's a youkai," Kagome said soflty.

"Well, then…" Joey started advancing, but the rabbit vanished.

"Where'd it go?"

"There!"

Two rabbits were hopping away, in different directions. Exchanging puzzled looks with each other, they started chasing them. Ryou pounced on one, only to have it vanish as well. Suddenly, all along there had been three rabbits.

"Something's very strange here," said Susan. Kagome pulled out a ward, and threw it at one of the rabbits. It froze for a minute, before shifting slightly and vanishing.

They all stopped in confusion.

"Where'd they all go?" Joey wondered.

"There! It's running away!" Ryou and Susan took off after it, but then there were two, running in different directions, until only one was left.

They spent several hours fruitlessly chasing the rabbit, until both youkai were quite annoyed. The whole ground was torn up, from using power attacks, but the rabbit was still hopping around cheekily.

"We're missing something," Kagome finally said.

"Yeah, how the heck is it bouncing around like that?" snapped Joey.

"Bouncing….wait!" Ryou said excitedly, "it's called the Time-Bouncing bunny! That's what it's been doing! Time traveling!"

"So every time it vanishes…that's because it jumped back in time?" Joey asked.

"It must not be able to move very far back," mused Susan.

They moved again, this time Kagome, Susan and Ryou attacking, while Joey timed the movements of the bunny. He tried to see how long it was between when a 'new' bunny appeared and when a 'different' one vanished, but it didn't look like it would be a big help.

"So," said Kagome, panting, "have we gotten anywhere?"

"It usually jumps back between five seconds and two minutes," said Joey. "But I really don't see how this can help us catch it."

"Well…" Ryou thought out loud, "what if we check when two appear, and then keep track of the one that already jumped back, and then catch it before it vanishes?"

"What?"

"Isn't that what we've been trying all along?" said Kagome tiredly.

"And what's to keep it from jumping back again?" said Susan.

"But if we already saw that there were, say, two of it, and it jumps back, then it would change history!"

"But if it needs to jump back again, then it would have jumped back already, which means that from the beginning there would have been more of it, so history wouldn't be changed because it already happened!" retorted Susan.

"I've lost them," sighed Joey.

Kagome meanwhile watched the bunny, who was twitching its ears at them and wiggling its nose. "Yep, I agree totally," she said to it.

Finally, it got dark, and they were forced to settle down for the night, without any Time Bouncing Bunnies to show for their efforts. The youkai seemed to be greatly amused by them, and spent the night hopping around the camp and taunting them wordlessly.

"It jumps back to the same place it's in in the future, right?" Ryou was still trying, tiredly, to figure it out. "So all we have to do is arrange to be in the same place in the future from the moment the youkai jumps back, and then catch it, because no matter what it stays in the same place!"

Ryu groaned mentally. _Dear Ra, I'm stuck in the same _mind_ with you! Have mercy on my poor soul and just _shut up about the damn rabbit already_! You're not making sense anymore!_

Susan sighed. "That would be quite nice, if it were possible, and if we could understand what the hell it is you're getting at."

"Can't we put up wards around the whole field to block its youkai power or something?" Joey suggested, idly chucking rocks at the white blob hopping around in the darkness of the African night.

"But then it could always jump back to a moment before I close the circle, and get away." Kagome was staring blankly into the fire. "Somehow, I think there's a reason nobody's ever caught this youkai before."

"Joey has a point though," said Susan slowly, "all we have to do is corner it. If it has nowhere to run to, then even if it moves back in time it's stuck in the same place, so we can catch it."

After another long and uncomfortable night, they woke up to try and implement the new plan. From the morning, they just worked at herding the bunny to a place where it would be so limited in movement that even time travel couldn't help it. Finally, they trapped it against a cliff, and Kagome slapped an ofuda on, making them all breathe sighs of relief. They wrapped it up in a blanket and stuck it in one of the backpacks. It had to be kept alive; they weren't quite sure what exactly was to be done with it yet.

* * *

Malik wandered, by himself. He seethed about this idea of going back into the past. Couldn't they see that there was so much that could go wrong? He stopped at a corner. "Rishid, you can stop following me." 

The older Tombkeeper, slightly sheepishly, came out from around the corner. "I was worried about you."

"I can take care of myself." Why did everybody persist in hovering around him all the time?

"Why are you so against going back to Ancient Egypt?"

Malik tensed, focused on a crack in the pavement. "Because…because it's a stupid idea. It's a disaster waiting to happen."

"That's not all that's bothering you," was the calm retort.

Damn, why did Rishid know him so well? "I'm sick of my life being mapped out for me," Malik finally said. "All the time, I _have_ to do stuff. I can't just do what I want. And I don't want to meet my past. I don't want to go back and see what caused the scars on my back. The past is past, and it should _stay_ that way!"

"It's not past yet, though. It's your future," Rishid said quietly.

Malik turned at him, his eyes blazing. "Well, it's a sucky future then! And I don't want anything to do with it!"

* * *

Yugi rubbed his eyes, and stared at the computer screen once more. After spending the last few days translating, searching, and cross-referencing, he had gained a lot of respect for the program Malik had on his computer, and had finally come to a conclusion. The 'potion', which had to be eaten, only had two ingredients: the blood of the Time Bouncing Bunny, and riboflavin. 

_What's 'riboflavin'?_ came Atem's innocent question.

_It's a kind of vitamin_, Yugi answered. _But I have no idea where we're supposed to get it. I don't think they sell it in stores…. _

_Let's wait until they return with the demon before we start planning_, Atem suggested reasonably. _If they don't catch it, all this is moot_.

* * *

Two days later, they were all sitting in the hotel, the bunny in a cage on the floor, discussing the next move. Most of them were sitting on the beds, floor, and chairs. Malik was in a corner, looking sullen. 

"The problem is," Yugi explained, "where the heck are we going to get riboflavin?"

"What the heck _is_ riboflavin?" Joey scratched his head.

"It's that stuff in Corn Flakes!" explained Tea, then did a double take. "That's right! Maybe we can use Corn Flakes for riboflavin!"

"Wait, how much do we need?" asked Tristan.

"Not much!" said Yugi excitedly. "The riboflavin is what controls how long you stay in the past, and you mix it with the youkai's blood to take you back into the past."

"So all we have to do is eat Corn Flakes with…youkai…blood…." Ryou turned green. Silence descended, as they all contemplated the truly disgusting combination.

"Somehow, I get the feeling this is another reason why not many people time travel," Yugi said, gulping. From the bathroom they could hear Malik being noisily sick.

"Well, in that case, I guess it's good that the hikaris are the ones going…." Joey said cheerfully.

"Gee, thanks…"

"So, when are you going to do it?" wondered Tea.

"We can't yet," said Ryou. "There's lots more stuff that have to be worked out before we can go back. Malik's right, it's dangerous there. We have to be as prepared as possible."

_Ask Malik, with all his bitching about this I'm sure he has some idea of what you need to do_, suggested Ryu.

_Yami__! Be nice!_ "Malik?" Ryou called to the Egyptian, who had just exited the bathroom. "What now?"

"Why are you asking me?"

They all looked at him expectantly.

"Forget it. No way. I don't want anything to do with this. Give up."

"Ok," Malik sighed. "Ryou, Yugi, you need to learn the language. Yugi needs to know basic street fighting, Susan can help him with that. We'll need to get immunized. Tristan, go check the CDC website. Your English is good enough, isn't it? Look for all the diseases in this general area of Africa, and also check what other hygienic rules we'll have to follow. Kagome, go dig up some clothes experts, to find out what we should wear there." He looked at the ceiling for a moment. "I guess that's all."

They digested their orders for a minute. "What about you?"

"_I_ shall go watch TV meanwhile. Call me if you need anything." And with that, he turned his back on them, turned on the TV, and tuned out.

The truth was, he mused as he heard everybody else leaving the room, he hadn't heard the news in a while, and was interested in knowing what was currently going on in the world. The picture was quite grim. Countries around the world were blaming each other for the demonic onslaught, and international relationships were becoming horribly strained. Urban legends were spreading, stories of huge areas in Europe and the Middle-East where youkai couldn't enter at all, legends of priests with crosses who held off youkai hordes, and synagogues that remained unbreached even when the whole surrounding area was destroyed. Christianity was strengthening, and there were talks of Crusades and Armageddon. The Muslims were beginning to call for Jihad, and the Jews, for perhaps the third time in history, were rallying under the banner of Messiah. Needless to say, all this was making the rest of the world rather nervous. They had enough troubles already, without having to worry about a World War III filled with religious fanatics.

* * *

"So," Isis asked when she got home from the museum that day, "what do you have so far?" 

"We're going to have to get the clothes tailor-made," said Kagome, "I think I know where we can find some people to design what we need."

"Yugi is not going to be a very good martial artist. I suggest that somebody else try to teach him, preferably somebody human. I haven't fought against an enemy larger and more powerful than me in several hundred years, I hardly remember the tricks anymore," was Susan's comment.

"They suck at languages," sighed Ryu.  
"They're gonna have to get tons of immunizations," said Tristan. "They need to get vaccinated against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningitis, rabies, typhoid, tetanus-diphtheria, measles, polio, yellow fever and possibly cholera. In addition we need to get anti-malaria pills, like doxycyline, and ultra mosquito protection, like DEET or something. And they'll have to make sure to stay out of the Nile, 'cause there's this nasty disease called schistosomiasis you get from swimming there."

"Really?" demanded Atem. "What disease?"

Tristan consulted his notes. "As far as I could understand, these little parasites crawl up from the soles of your feet into your intestine, multiply there, and ultimately you get cancer and die in horrible pain twenty years later."

"Doesn't this sound like fun," commented Malik sarcastically. "Remind me again who's idiotic idea this was?"

At the unhappy looks of Ryou and Yugi's faces, Tristan decided to leave the rest of the specifications, such as boiling all drinking water, eating no cooked food, peeling and washing (and preferably boiling) all foods before eating (which raised the question what exactly they _could_ eat), for some other opportunity. And to leave the lice out of it entirely.

* * *

Ryou was sitting outside in the sun, something he did several hours a day, to acquire a suntan. They had decided to try to get darker, so as to stand out less in terms of skin color. Yugi had expressed a worry about a possibility skin cancer, to which Malik had retorted that the possibility of getting hacked to bits was much more immediate and worrisome. Currently, Ryou was trying to memorize the Egyptian words Ryu had set him. Tebekh. Tebekh-apple. Tebekh-apple, tebekh-apple….Djet. Djet-olive, tebekh-apple… 

Across from him, looking bored and sulky (though he would never admit it), was the transparent form of spirit-Ryu.

_There's no way you'll survive there without me._

"We've been through this already," sighed Ryou. "It's bad enough we'll be taking the Millennium Rod, we don't need more trouble! And besides, I know you well," he said fondly, "there's no way you'd be able to control yourself and sit by quietly to watch yourself get killed."

_Hmph_.

"I heartily doubt that you're so worried about me. Besides, from what you said, we're supposed to make it alright."

Up to a certain point, at least, I don't know what happens after me and Idiot-Atem die. Just don't mention this to Malik, he's enough of a pain already. And believe me, taking Yugi is a stupid idea.

"What's stupid is the way you all get into huge detailed arguments about what kind of self defense to teach him! When you all get going…just Susan and Joey were bad enough, but now you and Tristan and Kagome joined in. At this rate he won't learn anything!"

_He'd better. You're leaving in less than two weeks._

* * *

Ryu finally found Malik, who was brushing up on his fighting skills in some alleys. He leaped silently off the roof, and landed behind the Egyptian. 

"Yo, Ryu," acknowledged Malik, not turning around.

"Your fighting skills could use some improvement," the quarter-youkai commented lazily. "Egypt's a dangerous place."

Malik pulled out a knife and attacked Ryu quickly. The former thief dodged the knife easily, and grabbed Malik's wrist, neatly disarming him. He didn't notice Malik's other hand come down, and gasped as a solid blow landed on the back of his neck.

"Really now?" Malik smirked, "don't care, I'm not going."

"Yes you are," the youkai stood up, this time watching him more warily, before launching an attack with his claws. "Let's just say that you hikaris didn't do such a great job of staying hidden. And there's more," he broke off, dodging several swipes.

"I'm not listening."

"I talked to that idiot Pharaoh, and there's one thing we agree on. You know why the Millennium Items went haywire?"

"Shut up!" Malik lunged, his hands crackling slightly with energy.

"Because there were eight of them, when there were only supposed to be seven. For some reason, there were two Millennium Rods. Now isn't that interesting?" He could tell that Malik was getting angry. The little purple sparks leaping from his fingertips were a dead giveaway.

"Bastard _youkai_," Malik snarled. Ryu could tell that the houshi was losing control, quickly. It must be the fact that, in a sense, they were natural enemies. The power inside Malik was just itching to get at him. Somehow, the thought wasn't very comforting. "Easy, Malik," he dodged backwards. "Calm down, ok? I'm not trying to hurt you." Good thing Ryou was securely locked away in his soul room right now, he did _not_ need to see Malik looking like this. "Don't look at me like that, Malik, don't you remember me? We're friends." The other Egyptian was calming down, his eyes losing their berserk rage. Ryu finally went up to him, and put a tentative hand on his shoulder. "You ok now?"

Malik shivered, his eyes focusing once more, losing their berserk gleam. "Damn…thanks, Ryu. I think I sorta lost it there for a minute…don't worry, I'm fine now…yeah…" He shook his head, as if trying to clear it, before shooting a mistrustful glance at Ryu. "Why'd you come after me?"

"Huh?" Ryu looked at him strangely. "I'm your friend, remember?"

"Yeah…" Malik didn't sound convinced, but fell silent, not saying any more on the subject all the way back to the hotel.

* * *

Isis handed a pile of clothing each to Yugi, Malik, and Ryou. "Here, go try these on. We have to make sure your look is just right!" Isis was enjoying this far more than she had any right to. The three boys sighed, and went to figure out how to put on the layers of confusing cloth. 

A few minutes later, they were standing, blushing slightly at the short skirt-like garments and pleats, not to mention uncovered chests. They also put on the jewelry Isis had acquired for them; nothing too fancy, but some bracelets and armlets. Isis strode up and down, inspecting them thoroughly, while they fidgeted. Ryou envied Malik his scars, which meant that he also had to wear a tunic that covered his upper body. He couldn't believe he would actually be expected to walk around in the streets in such a state of undress! _Prig_, commented Ryu.

Isis contemplated them, frowning. "Something's still wrong…I know! The hair!"

All three flinched, and shot worried glances at each other.

"Our hair?" Yugi asked apprehensively.

"Of course! We can't send you back like this, people will be noticing you for miles around! Nothing a little hair dye won't fix!"

"No way!" Ryou protested, backing away. "I'm NOT dyeing my hair!" Malik and Yugi nodded in agreement.

"Yugi's can be just dyed black and gelled down a little," Isis mused. "Dark brown for Ryou, and black for Malik. We'll have to dye their eyebrows too, though, so the change won't be noticeable."

Everybody had to grab the hikaris to prevent them from making a rapid escape, and they were dragged, literally kicking and screaming, into the bathroom to get their hair done.

Half an hour later, they were staring at their dull, boring, locks in sorrow. For Yugi it wasn't so bad, as most of his hair was black anyway, but Ryou was in shock and Malik was near tears.

"Do you know how long it'll take me to grow it out after this!" the no-longer-blonde Egyptian wailed, tugging at his hair.

"It's brown," Ryou sniffled. "I can't believe my hair is brown. It's bad enough it turns black every month, but it's not white any more…"

Ryu sighed. _The two of you are so pathetic it's, well, pathetic_.

* * *

Finally, it was the afternoon they were to leave. All three had small packs, water jugs, anti-malaria pills, and other necessities of life, in addition to the costumes. They were waiting for the "potion", feverishly trying to remember the sequence of events as told by Ryu and Atem, so as to know where they needed to be at any given time. 

"Now remember," Kagome reminded them for the _n_th time, "stay hidden. And boil the water. And-"

"Quit it already!" growled Joey. "They know, they know."

Ryou gulped as a bowl full of cornflakes (measured down to the last milligram) was placed in front of him, and dark red blood from the Time Bouncing Bunny (also measured meticulously) was poured on top of it. He felt like gagging. Next to him, Yugi and Malik _were_ gagging.

"Whatever you do, don't throw up," Susan cautioned. "If you throw up when you get there, you'll be catapulted 6000 years into the future from when you are, which means 3000 years from now. And _you'll be stuck there_."

"What?" They stared at her.

"It makes sense. If ingesting it takes you back 3000 years, and then bounces you back to the exact time and place you left, then if you regurgitate it, it will also bounce you back to here (from getting it out of your system) and the forceful expulsion from your system will add on another 3000 years, and strand you there. So no matter what, _don't_ throw up."

"And don't forget guys, fifteen days from now. It's 3:00 PM." Was Joey's addition.

The hikaris looked at the red-and-yellow sludge in their bowls, at each other, and swallowed hard.

"See you 3000 years ago," said Yugi.

They started eating.


	31. Thirteen Days

Okay. I realize that it's been more than a year and a half since I updated, and most of the people reading this have probably given up long ago. But...as a surprise to everyone, not least of all myself, I'm actually not finished with this! Several things have catalyzed my return to this story. One of them was the reviews I got recently from both **Jjinks** and **Cgflower**, and I suddenly realized, hey, people are actually still reading this! Another thing was that I went back and reread these chapters and realized that, for all that I think I write much better now, this is a pretty darn good fic, at least in my opinion. I spent hours working on the plot, researching, and it's depressing to think of never finishing it. So I'm going to apologize for the long wait, and hopefully, crank out some more chapters.

Now, I have to put a bit of a warning up - it's been ages since I've written for either Yugioh or Inuyasha. Fullmetal Alchemist has eaten my life, and while I wouldn't have it any other way, this means I'm out of practice. You may notice a bit of ooc-ness and stuff for a bit; bear with me, I'm getting my hand back in.

**For those of you who don't really want to reread the whole thing, I'll give you a short recap of what happened up until now:  
**Ryou discovered that his yami was actually the son of Inuyasha and Kagome, named Ryu, who lost a fight with Naraku and escaped with seven shards of the Shikon no Tama. Inuyasha vanished, and Kagome was thrown back into the well, this time with no option of returning. Ryu kept moving west, lost his memories, and didn't even know that he was a quarter-youkai; eventually, known now as Jiang, he ended up in Egypt, and founded a band of mercenaries, the Sand Vipers. In order to prevent Egypt from losing a war, he gave the priest Akunadin the Shikon Shards to use in creating the Millennium Items, with the condition that he would receive one of the items in return. The Pharaoh refused to give him one, and Jiang, now possessed by the ghosts of KuruEruna, swore vengeance on the Pharaoh and that he would take all the Items for himself. The Items were out of balance, and so they backfired on their users, and in the end, both Jiang's and Atem's souls were trapped inside their Millennium Items, where they stayed.  
In modern times, Ryou found out about his demon ancestry, and the reawakening of the Shikon Shards has caused demons to become active again, all over the world. After being attacked and tortured by a dark Miko, Malik began exhibiting latent miko-like powers. It turned out that Sesshoumaru, who had been Ryu's teacher, ended up leaving him Toukijin for himself, and the gang meet up with several of Sesshoumaru's descendants, including Susan, the current bearer of Tenseiga. Kagome befriends the gang, and ends up as Malik's girlfriend, in an attempt to move on from Inuyasha, who has been gone ever since the last battle with Naraku. Kagome also informs them of the corruptive properties of the Shikon no Tama, whose shards in the Millennium Items are dangerously corrupted, and are responsible for the corruption of both Ryu and Malik. It turns out that when Yami Yugi banished Yami Malik, he tore out a large part of Malik's soul, and so the Millennium Rod - and the Shikon Shard within- actually became a part of Malik, keeping him alive, while simultaneously corrupting him once again and turning him evil.  
It becomes imperative to destory the Shikon no Tama before the demon situation is too terrible, and to do that, they must first destroy the Millennium Items, which will effectively kill Atem, Ryu, and Malik. In order to prevent that, it is decided that the three hikaris will return to ancient Egypt to retrieve the bodies of Atem and Ryu right after they die, and then they will use Tenseiga to restore them to life.  
**If you don't want to read the whole story again I can understand that, but I would reccommend rereading from chapter 24-ish on, just to remember the details of what happened in ancient Egypt, otherwise you probably won't notice all the pretty time-loops I managed to work in.  
**I also want to apologize for the fact that this chapter is a bit on the short side.

**Thirteen Days**

For a moment, they felt as if nothing was happening. Ryou looked up, feeling slightly empty without his yami's constant commentary, but before he could say anything, he felt a sudden lurch. The floor fell out from under him with sickening suddenness, and he was in free fall. He couldn't actually feel wind, but he felt the pull below him. Colors blended together around him, creating an ever-changing vista; it hurt his eyes, which tried desperately to find something to focus on. Strobe lights flickered constantly around him, adding to the general chaos. Suddenly everything stopped with a jolt, and then he was moving up, horribly quickly, the colors still flashing around him.

_It's like bouncing_, thought one part of Ryou's mind. _And those lights, they're like days. Three thousand years…that's about…a million….days…._He reached the apex suddenly, and then he was falling again. His muscles hurt from constantly bracing himself, his stomach roiled, his eyes sore. He might have screamed at some point, but he wasn't sure.

* * *

Sensation returned slowly. Ryou was sprawled on the ground, tired and sore, feeling like he was burning up. He cracked his eyes open, only to shut them immediately when he met the glare of the sun. He realized that he was lying on sand. When he tried to move, his muscles ached, and he flopped back down immediately, lacking energy. Suddenly he heard a groan from beside him. Ryou slowly turned his head, to see Yugi. 

"I feel like I've been run over by a tank or something."

"We should get up," answered Ryou, but made no move to do so.

A third voice joined in. "We're going to dehydrate if we stay like this."

"Hi Malik," said Ryou.

"Now really, let's get up," said Yugi, and started pushing himself off the hot sand. Slowly, laboriously, the three hikaris stood up, shook out their clothes, and brushed sand out of their hair.

"I guess we should start heading for the city," Yugi suggested, when they had all stood looking around awkwardly for a few minutes. Squinting at the sky, Ryou finally pointed to their left.

"That way, I think."

They started walking. A few minutes in, Malik cleared his throat a little.

"You know, there's a problem. We're not going to be able to stay in contact properly here. No phones or anything, you know."

Yugi and Ryou exchanged a glance. Malik had a point. If there was trouble, which there undoubtedly would be, they needed some sure-fire way to contact each other.

"Knowing you, you've probably thought of something," said Ryou.

"You're not going to like it…" Malik warned.

"_Kadima_, spit it out," said Ryou.

"Well, I have the Millennium Rod with me. If you'd let me into your minds a little, I could-"

"Are you crazy?!" gasped Yugi. "You want to mind-control us?!"

"No! Not to that level. Just to connect our minds enough so that I can follow you, and you can send thoughts back to me. So I could be a sort of relay between you and Ryou," Malik placated.

"I assume that you purposely waited until we were safely away from our yamis to suggest this," sighed the youkai.

"Yeah, like I'd dare suggest it with them around," Malik rolled his eyes. "They'd probably kill me. Or at least try."

"Aren't there any other alternatives?" Yugi asked nervously.

Malik grinned, still walking. "Sure. I _won't_ link to you, something bad happens, and we all die here."

Though Ryou hated to admit it, Malik had a point. If they were linked through Malik's mind, they would have a reliable way to stay in contact. And Ancient Egypt was definitely a dangerous place. He was rather worried about giving the current Malik a foothold in his mind, but it didn't look like there were many options. With an abrupt ache, Ryou missed having his yami in the back of his mind. Normally he would have asked him, but now he would have to make his own decision…Well, he would have to trust the Egyptian. "Fine," he finally said, hearing Yugi's timid agreement a few minutes later. Malik stopped walking, and nodded, taking out his Item.

"Listen, I promise I won't hurt you. Just try not to fight, ok?" Malik raised his Item, and pointed it at Ryou's forehead. For a moment, Ryou didn't feel anything, and wondered if perhaps the magic wasn't going to work. But then he shivered, as he felt another _presence_, trying to get inside his mind. Instinctively he pushed against it, hearing from far away Malik's voice, "Ryou, I said don't fight it!"

With conscious effort, Ryou forced himself to stay still as the intruder slowly slid into his mind, touching his thoughts, flexing imaginary muscles, testing the space. Just when the ghostly feeling of something crawling around inside his mind was becoming unbearable, and Ryou felt the overwhelming urge to scream and do whatever it took to get rid of the intrusion, it was almost gone, leaving only a faint presence in the back of his mind, reminiscent of what he was used to feeling with his yami.

"Ryou? Ryou! Are you ok? Malik, I'm going to kill you if you've done something to him!" Yugi was shaking Ryou, trying to get a response. Ryou slowly managed to focus on the world once again, steadying himself.

"I'm fine Yugi," he comforted, before turning to Malik, who also had a slightly worried look on his face. "Geez, Malik, that was _nasty_!"

"I tried to be as gentle as I could," the Egyptian retorted, a bit self consciously.

_If that was gentle_, Ryou thought, _I pity his mind slaves_…He felt a flash of hurt from Malik's presence in the back of his mind, and bit his lip. Living in each other's minds might prove to be a rather trying experience.

* * *

Finally, they reached the city. Straggling mud-brick houses appeared, and –finally- trees and plants. The three looked around curiously, drinking in the strange sights and sounds. 

"Wow," Yugi gasped, the reality of the situation suddenly dawning on him. "We're in Ancient Egypt! We're really 3000 years in the past!"

"Shhhhhhhh!" Malik hissed. "Why don't you yell it any louder?!"

"Geez, Malik, stop being so uptight!" Ryou retorted. "We aren't going to get another chance like this, ever. We might as well enjoy it."

"Yeah right, enjoy fifteen days of pre-plumbing stink and lice. Fun."

Ryou exchanged an exasperated glance with Yugi. It seemed like they would be hearing a lot of this in the next fifteen days.

They wandered aimlessly at first, just trying to orient themselves in the new environment. Here, in the slums at the edge of the city, their strangeness didn't stand out so much. They were just three more strangers among the riffraff. When the sun started sinking, however, they decided it was time to regroup and get planning. They were on a tight schedule after all, and they didn't want to get stuck out after dark.

"We need somewhere to spend the night, and food. Not to mention a lead on Ryu."

"We should split up," Malik decided. "I'll go bargain for food, you guys scout out taverns and hostels." He handed Yugi a few of the golden pieces of jewelry they had brought along for barter. _Don't forget to keep me updated on where you are, so I know how to find you_, he inserted into their minds. The two other hikaris jumped, still unused to the mental link, before nodding.

Ryou watched as Malik vanished into the crowd, before turning to Yugi.

"I guess we'd better set off," he said nervously.

Despite the many people around them, Ryou felt almost alone. Everything here was different, strange, and (as Malik kept reminding them) potentially hostile. It took intense concentration to just follow conversations.

"So, what do you think an inn would look like?" Yugi asked nervously.

"I dunno, I guess we should look for a sign or something…"

"Like that?" Yugi pointed to a wooden sign hanging off a building. Neither Japanese could read what it said, but it looked promising. Or rather un-promising, if you looked at the kind of riff-raff going in and out of the establishment.

"Keep your knife handy," Ryou muttered to Yugi, as they advanced on the building.

The inside was, dark, dingy, and smelling of people and alcohol.

Ryou went up to the person he assumed was the bartender, or something like that, and asked about rooms.

"How much for room for three?" Ryou didn't like the way the man was looking at him, registering his accent. He liked even less the fact that they would be paying in gold jewelry.

The man named a price, which Ryou had almost no way to judge. He and Yugi exchanged glances, then accepted. They gave in exchange a simple gold ring. At the way the Egyptian's greedy eyes lit up, Ryou had the feeling they had paid much more than necessary.

The room was definitely nothing to write home about. It was square, on a second floor, with one window and three straw-filled mattresses on the floor.

"Do you think they'll try to rob us at night or something?" Yugi speculated. "I didn't like the way he was looking at us."

"We'd better stay on our guard." Ryou looked out the window, over the wonderful view of mud houses and desert. "Should I tell Malik where we are, or do you want to?"

"Go ahead."

Malik? Ryou thought tentatively, trying to send the thought to Malik the same way he did to his yami.

_Yeah?_

Relieved at the response, Ryou gained confidence. _We found a place. It's-_

_Just send me an image of how to get there, I'll find it. _Malik sounded rather impatient.

Ryou imagined the place at him and then snapped out of the semi-trance, when a thought occurred to him. _Hey, when we talk to you, do you just zone out in the middle of the street?_

_No, I'm used to having other people's random thoughts in my head. Anything else you want to ask?_ Apparently Malik didn't feel like talking, so Ryou 'backed away' from the connection.

"He should be here soon," Ryou relayed to Yugi. Yugi sighed, and sat down on one of the mattresses. It was itchy, and smelled rather strange. He could also hear half-imagined rustlings coming from it.

Yugi gulped. "I'm not sure what's worse, sleeping on this mattress or on the floor."

Ryou sat down on the floor. "There are probably bugs either way."

* * *

They had become spies. It seemed that the best way to find information about the whereabouts of the Tombrobber would be to wander and listen to gossip, and try to catch mention of him. They were also following Ryu's directive of "I'm pretty sure I saw Ryou in a tavern somewhere." It was nerve wracking, to say the least. All three were on edge, feeling alienated in the country around them, the knowledge that there was no help for them within centuries eating at them. Tempers became short, especially as by the second day they _still_ hadn't found Ryu, and they were all too aware that they now had only thirteen days left. 

Towards evening of the second day, something finally happened. Ryou was sitting in the barroom of an inn, when suddenly he felt a familiar aura. It was so faint that he thought he was imagining it at first, but when the tanned white-haired man walked in, Ryou knew they had found his yami.

_I found him! He just walked in!_ Ryou relayed triumphantly to Malik.

_Don't shout, geez_. There was a pause. _Keep watch on him, ok? I'll see what we can do about shadowing him._

Right.

The thief was fidgeting now, and Ryou was getting nervous. Did he see him? Recognize him? Jiang turned around suddenly, and met his eyes. Ryou jumped, and guiltily dropped his eyes, his heart pounding. He kept a close watch through the corner of his eye, trying not to draw anymore attention, until the thief finally got up and left the room.

_He's leaving_.

_I'm on it._

Well, if Malik would take care of the shadowing, there wasn't much more he needed to do around here. Ryou hung around for a few more minutes, pretending to enjoy his foul beer, before paying and making his way out.

As there was no real rush to get back to 'the base', Ryou decided to take the long way around, and maybe see a little more of ancient Egypt while he could.

The disappointing part, he mused, was that the smell really distracted you from noticing the splendor. He was glad they had undergone the painful set of inoculations; he really didn't want to know what nasty diseases he might have gotten (though, again, Malik would probably be happy to remind him).

The streets were getting darker, and now shadier sorts were wandering about. It wasn't that Ryou was worried about being attacked, but he didn't want to cause any commotion, or draw attention to himself. Better head back now.

Yugi was waiting in their room, a look of extreme boredom on his face. "Any luck?"

Ryou sighed, running a hand through his hair, which was already full of sand. "Malik didn't tell you? I found Ryu today."

Yugi sat bolt upright in excitement. "So Malik's following him?"

Ryou nodded tiredly. "Yeah. Better that he do it, he's got all that nervous energy to use up."

His friend nodded in agreement, and leaned back against the wall. "I think we need a better plan of action. True, Malik's following your yami, but we're just sitting here doing nothing. Remember, we need to find a way to keep tabs on my yami, too!" he scratched his head pensively.

"Hmm," Ryou thought for a minute. "So you're saying we should try and infiltrate the palace?"

"Well, yeah…" Yugi suddenly looked abashed. "I guess that sounds sort of ridiculous…"

"I'm sure we'll figure something out," Ryou said comfortingly. "After all, all of this already happened."

Yugi looked slightly happier, and scratched his head again. Ryou frowned.

"Yugi, I think we're getting head lice."

Blinking wide purple eyes at him, Yugi froze mid-scratch. "…Darn."

* * *

**A/N:** Normally, I am not one to beg for reviews. But in this case, given the length of time since last update, I would like some sort of reassurance that somebody's still reading this... so please? Even if it's just to tell me I messed up the characterization or something? 


End file.
